Simplifying deterministic parsing

This paper presents a model for deterministic parsing which was designed to simplify the task or writing and understanding a deterministic grammar. While retaining structures and operations similar to those or Marcus's PARSIFAL parser [Marcus 80] the grammar language incorporates the following changes. (1) The use or productions operating in parallel has essentially been eliminated and instead the productions are organized into sequences. Not only does this improve the understandability or the grammar, it is felt that this organization corresponds more closely to the task or performing the sequence of buffer transformations and attachments required to parse the most common constituent types. (2) A general method for interfacing between the parser and a semantic representation system is introduced. This interface is independent or the particular semantic representation used and hides all details or the semantic processing from the grammar writer . (3) The interface also provides a general method for dealing with syntactic ambiguities which arise from the attachment or optional modifiers such as prepositional phrases. This frees the grammar writer from determining each point at which such ambiguities can occur