Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!aplusl
From: aplusl@ethz.UUCP (Albert Meier)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2
Subject: Re: couldn't email to Mr. Grosch
Keywords: yacc, lex
Message-ID: <622@ethz.UUCP>
Date: 21 Sep 88 18:29:49 GMT
References: <3907@okstate.UUCP>
Reply-To: aplusl@bernina.UUCP (Albert Meier)
Organization: ETH Zuerich, Switzerland
Lines: 55

It seems as if we had the same problems as you: we also sent an article
about yacc and lex in Modula-2 but nothing seemed to have arrived, so we
repeat it through the net.

Yes there exists a Modula-2 equivalent for yacc and lex, even since some
years. The two tools are called Coco and Alex and originally come from
University of Linz, by Hanspeter Moessenboeck. The book "Ein
Compiler-Generator fuer Microcomputer" was published at Hanser-Verlag,
Munich and comes out in a second edition very soon. An english
translation should be published in these days by Prentice-Hall ("A
Compiler Generator for Microcomputers").

Coco and Alex are table driven and are for LL(1) grammers. As far as we
could measure speed and efficiency we found quite a big difference from
the C tools to Coco and Alex ... in favour of the Modula-2 tools! Both
tools are generated by themselves!

There are versions for M2SDS, Logitech, MacMETH, TaylorModula-2, M2/370
(the Modula-2 compiler for IBM /370 mainframes) and soon for Unix as
well. In addition there exists a version even for Turbo Pascal and we
recently got the information that there will soon be a version for
M2Amiga and SPC Modula-2 on the Atari.

Coco and Alex developed from a university project to a commercial
product and is sold by A+L AG and ITC exclusively. We provided for
universities a service that gives them full source code and everything
for the basic costs. In this case the university has to write to the
following address (basic costs, shipping, etc: ca. 30 - 40 US$)

University of Linz
Institut fuer Softwaretechnik
Altenberger Strasse
A-4040 Linz, Austria

(If you write them don't forget please to send greetings from me
personally (Albert Meier), because it has been quite a long time since I
met them last time).

Just besides: Hanspeter Moessenboeck got his title of a PROFESSOR at ETH
Zuerich just these days. He will be working there in the same institute
as Niklaus Wirth!

Here our address for all of you who are not from "the rest of the
world":

Interface Technologies Corp.
3336 Richmond, Suite 323
Houston, TX 77098-9990
Tel. (713) 523 8422

    .....           Albert Meier        Tel.  +41/1/700 30 37
   .. ....          A+L AG, Im Spaeten 23, CH-8906 Bonstetten
  ..   ....
 .......A+L.        E-Mail          aplusl@ifi.ethz.(ch/UUCP)
..       .......                 ...mcvax!cernvax!ethz!aplusl