Is there a standard C++ grammar?

Question

Does the standard specify the official C++ grammar?

I searched, but did not find it anywhere.

Also, I wish to read a bit about C++ grammar in detail, like which category of grammars it falls in, etc. Any links pointing me in the right direction would be helpful.

By category, I mean

taken from here.

Answer 1

Alessio Marchetti put a hyperlinked BNF grammar for C++ up at http://www.nongnu.org/hcb/.

Having everything linked together and on a single page makes it easy to navigate between rules.

Answer 2

Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, wrote a book called The C++ Programming Language which has been updated many times (I read the 3rd edition about 10 years ago). I recall it had very technical details regarding grammar (pre-processor and compiler).

You can probably find this book in on of your local book stores, it may offer you more enjoyment than a standards document from ANSI, depending on how specific you need to be.

Answer 3

Yes, it does.

The grammar is described in detail throughout the standard and is summarized in Appendix A: Grammar Summary (it's Appendix A in both the C++03 standard and the C++0x final committee draft).

You can purchase the C++03 standard or you can download the C++0x FCD (it's document n3092 on that page).

To answer the "what category is it in?" question, the C++ grammar is not context-free (also see the questions linked in answers to that question; they have additional examples of issues related to the C++ grammar and parsing C++).

Answer 4

Andrew Birkett has a thorough overview of parsing C++ on his web site. It covers some of the difficulties in creating a C++ grammar (mixing lexical, syntactic, and semantic analysis) and includes links to several C++ grammars.

Answer 5

Not sure but as far as I see, James McNellis's link (to the pdf) contains a note on the first page:

Warning

This document is not an ISO International Standard. It is distributed for review and comment. It is subject to change without notice and may not be referred to as an International Standard.

So, searched and I think this is the correct link to the official ISO: http://www-d0.fnal.gov/~dladams/cxx_standard.pdf