Code Search (Find, Follow), Analysis (Metrics, Static, Dynamic, Bugs) and Change (Modernization, Migration, Generation, Optimization, Rearchitecting)

System C Parser (Front End)

The System C parser (front end) enables the construction of SystemC custom compilers, analysis tools, or source transformation tools. It is a member of SD's family of language front ends, based on first-class infrastructure (DMS) for implementing such custom tools. The SystemC front end includes:

• Lexical analysis including ASCII and ISO 8859-1
  • Conversion of literal values (numbers, escaped strings) into native values to enable easy computation over literal values
  • String literals represented internally in Unicode to support 16-bit characters
• Explicit grammar directly implements SystemC 2.1 standard
  • Includes full ANSI C++ parser (ISO/IEC 14882:1998)
  • Option to support other C++ dialects
• Preprocessor support
  • Controllable include directory paths
  • Option to fully expand preprocessor directives
  • Option to parse include files for definitions
  • Option to parse preserving preprocessor conditional directives, macros and include directives
• Automatic construction of complete abstract syntax tree
  • Capture of comments and formats (shape) of literal values
  • Capture of ambiguous parses during parsing
  • Ability to parse large systems of files into same workspace, enabling interprocedural and cross-file analysis/transformation
  • Ability to parse different languages into same workspace, enabling cross-language analysis/transformation
• Facilities to process syntax trees
  • Complete procedural API to visit/query/update/construct/print syntax trees
  • Source regeneration by prettyprinting and/or fidelity printing of syntax trees with comments and lexical formats
  • Automatically generated source-to-source transformation system
  • Ability to define custom attribute-grammar-based analyzers
• Name and Type resolution
  • Type representation system for all SystemC and C++ types
  • All identifiers resolved to their SystemC or C++-defined type and stored in symbol tables
  • Automatic deletion of erroneous alternatives of ambiguous parses
  • Ability to condition transforms on identifier type
  • Abilility to visit/query/update symbol tables
• Available as source code to enable complete customization
  • Means to manage multiple language dialects with highly shared common core
• Robustness due to careful testing and application across many customers

Many of these facilities come as a consistent consequence of the front end being built to top of DMS.

Here are some sample tools (many offered by SD as products) built using the SystemC front end:

• Source Formatter
• Obfuscator
• Source Code Browser
• Duplicate Code Detection and removal

SD also offers:

• Verilog and SystemVerilog parser (front end)
• VHDL parser (front end)
• C++ parser (front end)
• C parser (front end)

Your organization may use DMS with the SystemC front end to implement and deploy your own custom tools. The sample tools can be obtained in source form as part of the SystemC front end for customization. Semantic Designs is also willing to build custom tools under contract.