Spirit Parser library is a framework that generates an object-oriented, recursive descent parser. It is designed to simplify the parsing process.
One of the key strengths of Spirit is the way in which parser objects can be composed through operator overloading, resulting in a backtracking LL(inf) parser capable of parsing even the most ambiguous grammars. Specifically, the framework facilitates the writing of target grammars exclusively in C++, allowing inline EBNF grammar specifications to be integrated seamlessly with other C++ code. Additionally, the generative power of C++ templates means that these inline grammars are executable immediately.
Compared to the more traditional compiler-compilers and parser-generators, Spirit stands out for its lack of an additional translation step from the source EBNF code to C/C++ code. Furthermore, as part of the broader Boost Libraries community, Spirit benefits not just from the work of its own contributors, but from a larger collaborative development effort as well.
In terms of recent updates, the most recent release of Spirit includes several bug fixes and updates to its Jamfile, Jamrules, and boost-build.jam files. Additionally, the latest version disables template multi-threading in certain contexts and fixes an inconsistency related to if_p. Overall, however, the strength of the Spirit framework lies in its ability to provide developers with a powerful, flexible tool for building custom parsers in C++.
Version 1.8.2: N/A