Comparison of parser generators

This is a list of notable lexer generators and parser generators for various language classes.

Regular languages

Name	Website	Lexer algorithm	Output languages	Grammar, code	Development platform	License
DFAC	[1]	DFA direct code	C, C++	separate	Windows	BSD
DFASTAR	[2]	DFA matrix tables	C, C++	separate	Windows	BSD
Dolphin	[3]	DFA	C++	separate	all	Proprietary
flex	[4]	DFA table driven	C	mixed	all	BSD
Alex	[5]	DFA	Haskell	mixed	all	BSD
JFlex	[6]	DFA	Java	mixed	Java Virtual Machine	GNU GPL
C# Flex	[7]	DFA	C#	mixed	.NET CLR	GNU GPL
JLex	[8]	DFA	Java	mixed	Java Virtual Machine	BSD-like [9]
C# Lex	[10]	DFA	C#	mixed	.NET CLR	?
CookCC	[11]	DFA	Java	mixed	Java Virtual Machine	BSD
gelex	[12]	DFA	Eiffel	mixed	Eiffel	MIT
gplex	[13]	DFA	C#	mixed	.NET CLR	BSD-like
lex	[14]	DFA	C	mixed	POSIX	Proprietary, CDDL
Quex	[15]	DFA direct code	C, C++	mixed	all	GNU LGPL
Ragel	[16]	DFA	C, C++, D, Java, Objective-C, Ruby	mixed	all	GNU GPL
re2c	[17]	DFA direct code	C	mixed	all	MIT
Russ Cox's regular expression implementations	[18]	DFA, NFA	Bytecode, x86 assembly language, interpreted	separate	all	MIT
lexertl	[19]	DFA	C++		all	GNU LGPL

Deterministic context-free languages

Name	Website	Parsing algorithm	Input grammar notation	Output languages	Grammar, code	Lexer	Development platform	IDE	License
ANTLR	[20]	LL(*)	EBNF	ActionScript, Ada95, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, Perl, Python, Ruby	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	Yes	BSD
APG	[21]	Recursive descent, Backtracking	ABNF	C, C++, JavaScript, Java	separate	none	all	No	GNU GPL
AXE	[22]	Recursive descent	AXE/C++	C++11	mixed	none	any platform with standard C++11 compiler	No	Boost
Beaver	[23]	LALR(1)	?	Java	mixed	external	Java Virtual Machine	No	BSD
Bison++	[24]	LALR(1)	?	C++	mixed	external	POSIX	No	GNU GPL
Bisonc++	[25]	LALR(1)	?	C++	mixed	external	POSIX	No	GNU GPL
BtYacc	[26]	Backtracking Bottom-up	?	C++	mixed	external	all	No	Public domain
byacc	[27]	LALR(1)	YACC	C	mixed	external	all	No	Public domain
BYACC/J	[28]	LALR(1)	?	C, Java	mixed	external	all	No	Public domain
CL-Yacc	[29]	LALR(1)	?	Common Lisp	mixed	external	all	No	MIT
Coco/R	[30]	LL(k)	?	C, C++, C#, F#, Java, Ada, Pascal, Modula-2, Oberon, Ruby, Unicon, Visual Basic .NET	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine, .NET Framework	No	GNU GPL
CookCC	[31]	LALR(1)	?	Java	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	BSD
CppCC	[32]	LL(k)	?	C++	mixed	generated	POSIX	No	GNU GPL
CSP	[33]	LR(1)	?	C++	separate	generated	POSIX	No	Apache License 2.0
CUP	[34]	LALR(1)	?	Java	mixed	external	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU GPL
Dragon	[35]	LR(1), LALR(1)	?	C++, Java	separate	generated	all	No	GNU GPL
eli	[36]	LALR(1)	?	C	mixed	generated	POSIX	No	GNU GPL, GNU LGPL
Essence	[37]	LR(???)	?	Scheme 48	mixed	external	all	No	BSD
eyapp	[38]	LALR(1)	?	Perl	mixed	external or generated	all	No	Perl
Frown	[39]	LALR(k)	?	Haskell 98	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
geyacc	[40]	LALR(1)	?	Eiffel	mixed	external	all	No	MIT
GOLD	[41]	LALR(1)	BNF	x86 assembly language, ANSI C, C#, D, Java, Pascal, Object Pascal, Python, Visual Basic 6, Visual Basic .NET, Visual C++	separate	generated	Microsoft Windows	Yes	Modified Zlib
GPPG	[42]	LALR(1)	YACC	C#	separate	external	Microsoft Windows	Yes	BSD
Grammatica	[43]	LL(k)	BNF dialect	C#, Java	separate	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU LGPL
HiLexed	[44]	LL(*)	EBNF or Java	Java	separate	internal	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU LGPL
Hime Parser Generator	[45]	LR(1), LALR(1), LR(0), LR(*)	?	C#	separate	generated	.NET Framework	No	GNU LGPL
Hyacc	[46]	LR(1), LALR(1), LR(0)	YACC	C	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
jacc	[47]	LALR(1)	?	Java	mixed	external	Java Virtual Machine	No	BSD
JavaCC	[48]	LL(k)	?	Java	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	Yes	BSD
jay	[49]	LALR(1)	YACC	C#, Java	mixed	none	Java Virtual Machine	No	BSD
JFLAP	[50]	LL(1), LALR(1)	?	Java	?	?	Java Virtual Machine	Yes	?
JetPAG	[51]	LL(k)	?	C++	mixed	generated	all	No	GNU GPL
JS/CC	[52]	LALR(1)	EBNF	JavaScript, JScript, ECMAScript	mixed	internal	all	Yes	Artistic
KDevelop-PG-Qt	[53]	LL(1), Backtracking, Shunting yard	?	C++	mixed	generated or external	all, KDE	No	GNU LGPL
Kelbt	[54]	Backtracking LALR(1)	?	C++	mixed	generated	POSIX	No	GNU GPL
kmyacc	[55]	LALR(1)	?	C, Java, Perl, JavaScript	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
Lapg	[56]	LALR(1)	?	C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU GPL
Lemon	[57]	LALR(1)	?	C	mixed	external	all	No	Public domain
LEPL	[58]	Recursive descent	Python	Python (no generation, library)	separate	none	all	No	MPL/GNU LGPL
Lime	[59]	LALR(1)	?	PHP	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
LISA	[60]	LR(?), LL(?), LALR(?), SLR(?)	?	Java	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	Yes	Public domain
LPG	[61]	Backtracking LALR(k)	?	Java	mixed	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	EPL
LLgen	[62]	LL(1)	?	C	mixed	external	POSIX	No	BSD
LLnextgen	[63]	LL(1)	?	C	mixed	external	POSIX	No	GNU GPL
LRSTAR	[64]	LALR(1), LALR(k)	TBNF	C++, Visual C++	separate	Includes DFASTAR and DFAC	Microsoft Windows	Microsoft Visual Studio	BSD
Menhir	[65]	LR(1)	?	Objective Caml	mixed	generated	all	No	QPL
Mini Parser Generator	[66]	?	?	Python	mixed	generated	all	No	GNU LGPL
ML-Yacc	[67]	LALR(1)	?	ML	mixed	external	all	No	?
Monkey	[68]	LR(1)	?	Java	separate	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU GPL
More Than Parsing	[69]	LL(1)	?	Java	separate	generated	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU GPL
Msta	[70]	LALR(k), LR(k)	YACC, EBNF	C, C++	mixed	external or generated	POSIX, Cygwin	No	GNU GPL
ocamlyacc	[71]	LALR(1)	?	Objective Caml	mixed	external	all	No	QPL
olex	[72]	LL(1)	?	C++	mixed	generated	all	No	GNU GPL
Parsec	[73]	LL, Backtracking	?	Haskell	mixed	none	all	No	BSD
Parse::Yapp	[74]	LALR(1)	?	Perl	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
Parser Objects	?	LL(k)	?	Java	mixed	?	Java Virtual Machine	No	zlib
PCCTS	[75]	LL	?	C, C++	?	?	all	No	?
PLY	[76]	LALR(1)	?	Python	mixed	generated	all	No	MIT License
PRECC	[77]	LL(k)	?	C	separate	generated	DOS, POSIX	No	GNU GPL
QLALR	[78]	LALR(1)	?	C++	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
RPATK	[79]	Recursive descent, Backtracking	BNF	C (no generation, library)	separate	none	all	No	GNU GPL
SableCC	[80]	LALR(1)	?	C, C++, C#, Java, Objective Caml, Python	separate	generated	all	No	GNU LGPL
Simple Parser	[81]	Recursive descent	Python	Python	separate	generated	all	No	GNU LGPL
SLK	[82]	LL(k)	?	C, C++, C#, Java	separate	external	all	No	Proprietary
Spirit	[83]	Recursive descent	?	C++	mixed	internal	all	No	Boost
Styx	[84]	LALR(1)	?	C, C++	separate	generated	all	No	GNU LGPL
Sweet Parser	[85]	LALR(1)	?	C++	separate	generated	Microsoft Windows	No	zlib
Tap	[86]	LL(1)	?	C++	mixed	generated	all	No	GNU GPL
TextTransformer	[87]	LL(k)	?	C++	mixed	generated	Microsoft Windows	Yes	Proprietary
TinyPG	[88]	LL(1)	?	C#, Visual Basic	?	?	Microsoft Windows	Yes	CPOL 1.0
Toy Parser Generator	[89]	Recursive descent	?	Python	mixed	generated	all	No	GNU LGPL
TP Yacc	[90]	LALR(1)	?	Turbo Pascal	mixed	external	all	Yes	GNU GPL
UniCC	[91]	LALR(1)	EBNF	C, target-language independent	mixed	generated	POSIX	No	Artistic 2.0
Whale	[92]	LR(?), some conjunctive stuff, see Whale Calf	?	C++	mixed	external	all	No	Proprietary
Wisent	[93]	LALR(1)	?	C++, Java	mixed	external	Java Virtual Machine	No	GNU GPL
Yacc (AT&T)/Sun	[94]/[95]	LALR(1)	YACC	C	mixed	external	POSIX	No	CPL & CDDL
Yacc++	[96]	LR(1), LALR(1)	YACC	C++, C#	mixed	generated or external	all	No	Proprietary
Yapps	[97]	LL(1)	?	Python	mixed	generated	all	No	MIT
yecc	[98]	LALR(1)	?	Erlang	separate	generated	all	No	Erlang
VisualLangLab	[99]	LL(*)	visual tree (JTree)	All JVM Languages, though Scala is particularly well supported because of its pattern matching capabilities	mixed	generated	Scala	Yes	GNU GPL
Visual BNF	[100]	LR(1), LALR(1)	?	C#	separate	generated	.NET Framework	Yes	Proprietary
Visual Parse++	[101]	LALR(???)	?	C, C++, C#, Java	separate	generated	Microsoft Windows	Yes	Proprietary
YooParse	[102]	LR(1), LALR(1)	?	C++	mixed	external	all	No	MIT
Product	Website	Parsing algorithm	Input grammar notation	Output languages	Grammar, code	Lexer	Development platform	IDE	License

Parsing expression grammars, deterministic boolean grammars

Name	Website	Parsing algorithm	Output languages	Grammar, code	Development platform	License
Aurochs	[103]	Packrat	C, Objective Caml, Java	mixed	all	GNU GPL
CL-peg	[104]	Packrat	Common Lisp	mixed	all	MIT
Drat!	[105]	Packrat	D	mixed	all	GNU GPL
Frisby	[106]	Packrat	Haskell	mixed	all	BSD
grammar::peg	[107]	Packrat	Tcl	mixed	all	BSD
IronMeta	[108]	Packrat	C#	mixed	Microsoft Windows	BSD
Katahdin	[109]	Packrat (modified), mutating interpreter	C#	mixed	all	Public domain
Laja	[110]	2-phase scannerless top-down backtracking + runtime support	Java	separate	all	GNU GPL
LPeg	[111]	Parsing Machine	Lua	mixed	all	MIT
Mouse	[112]	Recursive descent	Java	separate	Java Virtual Machine	Apache License 2.0
Narwhal	[113]	Packrat	C	mixed	POSIX, Microsoft Windows	BSD
Nemerle.Peg	[114]	Recursive descent + Pratt	Nemerle	separate	all	BSD
neotoma	[115]	Packrat	Erlang	separate	all	MIT
NPEG	[116]	Recursive descent	C#	mixed	all	MIT
OMeta	[117]	Packrat (modified)	JavaScript, Squeak, Python	mixed	all	MIT
Packrat	[118]	Packrat	Scheme	mixed	all	MIT
Pappy	[119]	Packrat	Haskell	mixed	all	Proprietary
parboiled	[120]	Recursive descent	Java, Scala	mixed	Java Virtual Machine	Apache License 2.0
parsepp	[121]	?	C++	mixed	all	Public domain
Parsnip	[122]	Packrat	C++	mixed	Microsoft Windows	GNU GPL
peg	[123]	Recursive descent	C	mixed	all	MIT
PEG.js	[124]	Packrat	JavaScript	mixed	all	MIT
peg-parser	[125]	PEG parser interpreter	Dylan	separate	all
pegc	[126]	?	C	mixed	all	Public domain
PetitParser	[127]	Packrat	Smalltalk, JavaScript	mixed	all	MIT
PEGTL	[128]	Recursive descent	C++0x	mixed	POSIX	MIT
PGE	Parser Grammar Engine	Recursive descent	Parrot bytecode	mixed	Parrot virtual machine	Artistic 2.0
PyPy rlib	[129]	Packrat	Python	mixed	all	MIT
pyPEG	[130]	PEG parser interpreter, Packrat	Python	mixed	all	GNU GPL
Rats!	[131]	Packrat	Java	mixed	Java Virtual Machine	GNU LGPL
Spirit2	[132]	Recursive descent	C++	mixed	all	Boost
Treetop	[133]	Recursive descent	Ruby	mixed	all	MIT
Yard	[134]	Recursive descent	C++	mixed	all	MIT or Public domain
Waxeye	[135]	Packrat	C, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Scheme	separate	all	MIT
PHP PEG	[136]	? (PEG Parser?)	PHP	mixed	all	BSD

General context-free, conjunctive or boolean languages

Name	Website	Parsing algorithm	Input grammar notation	Output languages	Grammar, code	Lexer	Development platform	IDE	License
ACCENT	[137]	Earley	?	C	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
APaGeD	[138]	GLR, LALR(1), LL(k)	?	D	mixed	generated	all	No	Artistic
Bison	[139]	LALR(1), LR(1), IELR(1), GLR	YACC	C, C++, Java	mixed	external	all	No	GNU GPL
DMS Software Reengineering Toolkit	[140]	GLR	?	Parlanse	mixed	generated	Microsoft Windows	No	Proprietary
DParser	[141]	Scannerless GLR	?	C	mixed	scannerless	POSIX	No	BSD
Dypgen	[142]	runtime-extensible GLR	?	Objective Caml	mixed	generated	all	No	CeCILL-B
Elkhound	[143]	GLR	?	C++, Objective Caml	mixed	external	all	No	BSD
eu.h8me.Parsing	[144]	GLR	?	N/A (state machine is runtime generated)	separate	external	.NET Framework	No	BSD
GDK	[145]	LALR(1), GLR	?	C, Lex, Haskell, HTML, Java, Object Pascal, Yacc	mixed	generated	POSIX	No	MIT
Happy	[146]	LALR, GLR	?	Haskell	mixed	external	all	No	BSD
Hime Parser Generator	[147]	GLR	?	C#	separate	generated	.NET Framework	No	GNU LGPL
Jison	[148]	LALR(1), LR(0), SLR(1)	YACC	JavaScript	mixed	generated	all	No	MIT
Laja	[149]	Scannerless, two phase	Laja	Java	separate	scannerless	all	No	GNU GPL
Scannerless Boolean Parser	[150]	Scannerless GLR (Boolean grammars)	?	Haskell, Java	separate	scannerless	Java Virtual Machine	No	BSD
SDF/SGLR	[151]	Scannerless GLR	SDF	C, Java	separate	scannerless	all	Yes	BSD
SmaCC	[152]	GLR(1), LALR(1), LR(1)	?	Smalltalk	mixed	internal	all	Yes	MIT
SPARK	[153]	Earley	?	Python	mixed	external	all	No	MIT
Tom	[154]	GLR	?	C	generated	none	all	No	Proprietary
UltraGram	[155]	LALR, LR, GLR	?	C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic .NET	separate	generated	Microsoft Windows	Yes	Proprietary
Wormhole	[156]	Pruning, LR, GLR, Scannerless GLR	?	C, Python	mixed	scannerless	Microsoft Windows	No	MIT
Whale Calf	[157]	General tabular, SLL(k), Linear normal form (Conjunctive grammars), LR, Binary normal form (Boolean grammars)	?	C++	separate	external	all	No	Proprietary

See also

• Compiler-compiler

External links

• The Catalog of Compiler Construction Tools
• Python Language Parsing
• Open Source Parser Generators in Java