The design and implementation of the syntax-directed editor generator (SEG)

Abstract

SEG is a syntax-directed editor generator consisting of three parts: Meta, a meta language which describes BNF-like syntax; a parser, which parses the syntax descriptions written in Meta and generates their driver tables; a syntax-directed editor, which performs editing operations using a table. Similar to its ancestors (e.g. CPS, Gandalf), SEG is characterized by the following features: i) it is for a variety of languages so that the editor of a specific language can be easily produced; ii) multifile can be edited in multiwindow; iii) private environments can be set up by users; iv) the PC-mouse with the dedicated menus enables users to enter commands correctly and quickly; v) pretty-printing of program documents is done automatically or manually. Like other syntax-directed editors, any program edited by SEG is syntactically correct. This paper outlines the SEG system and discusses the design principles and implementation techniques of the system.