YAAC

A parser generator is a program that takes as input a specification of

a syntax, and produces as output a procedure for recognizing that
language. Historically, they are also called compiler-compilers.
YACC (yet another compiler-compiler) is an LALR(1) (LookAhead,
Left-to-right, Rightmost derivation producer with 1 lookahead token)
parser generator. YACC was originally designed for being
complemented by Lex.

Definition Part:
The definition part includes information about the tokens used in the
syntax definition: 
%token NUMBER
%token ID
Yaccautomatically assigns numbers for tokens, but it can be overridden by 
%token NUMBER 621
Yacc also recognizes single characters as tokens. Therefore, assigned token numbers
should not overlap ASCII codes. 
The definition part can include C code external to the definition of the parser and variable
declarations, within %{ and %} in the first column. 
It can also include the specification of the starting symbol in the grammar: 
%start nonterminal
Rule Part: 
The rules part contains grammar definition in a modified BNF form. 
Actions is C code in { } and can be embedded inside (Translation schemes). 

Auxiliary Routines Part: 

The auxiliary routines part is only C code. 
It includes function definitions for every function needed in rules part. 
It can also contain the main() function definition if the parser is going to be run as a
program.
The main() function must call the function yyparse(). 
 

Input File: 
If yylex() is not defined in the auxiliary routines sections, then it should be included: 
 #include "lex.yy.c"
YACC input file generally finishes with:  .y

Output Files: 
The output of YACC is a file named y.tab.c 
If it contains the main() definition, it must be compiled to be executable. 
Otherwise, the code can be an external function definition for the function int yyparse() 
If called with the –d option in the command line, Yacc produces as output a header
file y.tab.h with all its specific definition (particularly important are token definitions to be
included, for example, in a Lex input file). 
If called with the –v option, Yacc produces as output a file y.output containing a textual
description of the LALR(1) parsing table used by the parser. This is useful for tracking
down how the parser solves conflicts.