Extending ctags with a parser written in C

This chapter describes how to add a parser in C and the internal API of Universal Ctags.

Before you start writing a parser in C, consider using optlib parser. Universal Ctags extends the functionality so extensively that it can implement most of functionality for the parser. See ctags-optlib(7) and Extending ctags with Regex parser (optlib) for details.

optlib parser is also suitable for prototyping of a parser in C.

• Writing a parser in C
  • Registering a parser
  • Reading input file stream
  • Parsing
  • Adding a tag to the tag file
  • Adding the parser to ctags
  • Misc.
• Input text stream
  • inputFile type and the functions of input group
  • The functions of bypass group
  • The functions of raw group
  • Escaping and unescaping input fields
• Output tag stream
  • cork API
    • Background and Idea
    • How to use
    • Automatic full qualified tag generation
    • symbol table API
• tokenInfo API
• Multiple parsers
  • Guest parser (promise API)
    • Background and Idea
    • Usage
    • Internal design
  • API for subparser
    • Outline
    • Fields of subparser type
    • Extending subparser type
    • Making a tag in a subparser
    • Calling methods of subparsers from a base parser
    • Registering a subparser to its base parser
    • Scheduling running the base parser
• PackCC compiler-compiler
• Null tags
• Automatic parser guessing (TBW)
• Managing regular expression parsers (TBW)
• Ghost kind in regex parser (TBW)