Compile time syntax analysis of APL programs

Abstract

We present a technique for the compile-time determination of the syntactic attribute of names essential for the development of a compile-time parser for APL. The method is applicable to a large class of APL programs namely, programs which do not utilize certain features of the language allowing dynamic changes in the syntactic meaning of program statements. Empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that the restricted APL language encompasses almost all existing APL code.