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{{Short description|Visual description of context-free grammar}}

{{Unreferenced|date=September 2007}}

'''Syntax diagrams''' (or '''railroad diagrams''') are a way to represent a [[context-free grammar]]. They represent a graphical alternative to [[Backus–Naur form]], [[EBNF]], [[Augmented Backus–Naur form]], and other text-based grammars as [[metalanguages]]. Early books using syntax diagrams include the "Pascal User Manual" written by [[Niklaus Wirth]]<ref name="Wirth1974">[http://e-collection.library.ethz.ch/eserv/eth:3059/eth-3059-01.pdf Niklaus Wirth: ''The Programming Language Pascal.'' (July 1973)]</ref> (diagrams start at page 47) and the Burroughs [[CANDE]] Manual.<ref name="burroughs71">[http://bitsavers.org/pdf/burroughs/B6500_6700/5000318_B6700_CANDE_Oct72.pdf Burroughs B6700/B7700 ''Command AND Edit (CANDE) Language: Information Manual'']</ref> In the compilation field, textual representations like BNF or its variants are usually preferred. BNF is text-based, and used by compiler writers and parser generators. Railroad diagrams are visual, and may be more readily understood by laypeople, sometimes incorporated into graphic design. The canonical source defining the [[JSON]] [[data exchange|data interchange]] format provides yet another example of a popular modern usage of these diagrams.

'''Syntax diagrams''' (or '''railroad diagrams''') are a way to represent a [[formal grammar]]. They represent a graphical alternative to [[Backus-Naur Form]] or [[EBNF]]. Syntax diagrams are mainly used for educational purpose where finding a path within the diagrams can be a more intuitive way to introduce what parsing is that the classical derivation of a non terminal. In the compilation field, textual representations like BNF or its variants are usually preferred.

== Principle ==

The representation of a grammar is made of a set of syntax diagrams. Each diagram defines a non-terminal"nonterminal" stage in a process. There is a main diagram which defines the language in the following way: to belong to the language, a word must describe a path in the main diagram.

Each diagram has an entry point and an end point. The diagram describes possiblespossible paths between these two points by going through other nonterminals and terminals. TerminalsHistorically, areterminals have been represented by round boxes whileand nonterminals are represented by squarerectangular boxes but there is no official standard.

== Example ==

{{translate|fr}}

We use arithmetic expressions as an example., Firstin wevarious providegrammar a simplified BNF grammar:formats.

BNF:

<expression> ::= <terme> | <terme> "+" <expression>

<syntaxhighlight lang="bnf">

<termeexpression> ::= <facteurterm> | <facteurterm> "*+" <termeexpression>

<term> ::= <factor> | <factor> "*" <term>

<facteurfactor> ::= <constanteconstant> | <variable> | "(" <expression> ")"

<variable> ::= "x" | "y" | "z"

<variableconstant> ::= "x"<digit> | "y" | "z"<digit> <constant>

<chiffredigit> ::= "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"

<constante> ::= <chiffre> | <chiffre> <constante>

<chiffre> ::= "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"

</syntaxhighlight>

This grammar can also be expressed in [[EBNF]]:

EBNF:

expression = terme , {"+" terme};

<syntaxhighlight lang="ebnf">

termeexpression = facteurterm , {[ "*+" facteur}, expression ];

term = factor , [ "*" , term ];

facteurfactor = constanteconstant | variable | "(" , expression , ")";

variable = "x" | "y" | "z";

variableconstant = "x"digit |, "y"{ |digit "z"};

chiffredigit = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9";

constante = chiffre , {chiffre};

chiffre = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9";

</syntaxhighlight>

One possible set of syntax diagrams for this grammar is :

ABNF:

[[Image:Diagrammes Syntaxiques.png|Diagrams for a simple grammar of expressions]]

<syntaxhighlight lang="abnf" highlight="6">

<expression> ::= <terme> | <terme>term ["+" <expression>]

term = factor ["*" term]

factor = constant / variable / "(" expression ")"

variable = "x" / "y" / "z"

constant = 1*digit

DIGIT = "0" / "1" / "2" / "3" / "4" / "5" / "6" / "7" / "8" / "9"

</syntaxhighlight>

ABNF also supports ranges, e.g. {{code|2=abnf|1=DIGIT = %x30-39}}, but it is not used here for consistency with the other examples.

[[Red (programming language)]] Parse Dialect:

{{Formal languages and grammars}}

<syntaxhighlight lang="Red" highlight="7">

Red [Title: "Parse Dialect"]

expression: [term opt ["+" expression]]

term: [factor opt ["*" term]]

factor: [constant | variable | "(" expression ")"]

variable: ["x" | "y" | "z"]

constant: [some digit]

digit: ["0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"]

</syntaxhighlight>

This format also supports ranges, e.g. {{code|2=red|digit: charset [#"0" - #"9"]}}, but it is not used here for consistency with the other examples.

One possible syntax diagram for the example grammars is below. While the syntax for the text-based grammars differs, the syntax diagram for all of them can be the same because it is a [[metalanguage]].

[[Category:Formal languages]]

[[Image:Syntax-diagram-example.png|"Railroad" syntax diagram]]

{{computer-stub}}

==See also==

[[fr:Diagramme Syntaxique]]

* [[Recursive transition network]]

* [[Extended Backus–Naur form]] (EBNF)

==References==

{{reflist}}

Note: the first link is sometimes blocked by the server outside of its ___domain, but it is available on [https://web.archive.org/web/20180909121538/https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/handle/20.500.11850/68910/eth-3059-01.pdf archive.org]. The file was also mirrored at [http://www.standardpascal.org/The_Programming_Language_Pascal_1973.pdf standardpascal.org].

==External links==

* [https://www.json.org/ JSON website including syntax diagrams]

* [http://dotnet.jku.at/applications/Visualizer/ Generator from EBNF]

* [http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~thiemann/haskell/ebnf2ps/ From EBNF to a postscript file with the diagrams]

* [https://karmin.ch/ebnf/index EBNF Parser & Renderer]

* [https://www.sqlite.org/docsrc/finfo?name=art/syntax/bubble-generator.tcl SQLite syntax diagram generator for SQL]

* [https://www.bottlecaps.de/rr Online Railroad Diagram Generator]

* [https://www.yorku.ca/jmason/asdgram.htm Augmented Syntax Diagram (ASD) grammars]

* [http://www.asd-networks.com (ASD) '''Augmented''' Syntax Diagram Application Demo Site ]

* [https://github.com/gbrault/railroad-diagrams/blob/gh-pages/live/doc/readme.md/ SRFB Syntax Diagram representation by Function Basis + svg generation]

[[Category:Formal languages]]

[[Category:Diagrams]]