Re: [PATCH]: Suggested documentation about working with Bison versions.

[Kaz Kylheku]

On 2020-10-14 11:38, Paul Eggert wrote:
> On 10/13/20 5:11 PM, Kaz Kylheku wrote:
>
> >      doc: document best deployment practices.
>
> Thanks, this sort of thing should be helpful. I see you haven't signed
> copyright papers for Bison, though. I assume you know how to jump
> through the hoops? If not, I can send you email as to how to get the
> ball rolling.

I've sent what is hopefully is the right form to assign@gnu.org.

> > +Bison provides a Yacc compatibility mode in which it strives to 
> > conform with
> > +the POSIX standard. Grammar files which are written to the POSIX 
> > standard, and
> > +do not take advantage of any of the special capabilities of Bison, 
> > are very
> > +likely to work with many version of Bison without modification.
>
> very likely to work with many version of->
> should work with

I will make these and the other changes.

> > +Developers who strive to make their Bison code simultaneously
> > +compatible with other parser generators are encouraged to 
> > nevertheless use
> > +specific versions of all generators, and still follow the recommended 
> > practice
> > +of shipping generated output.
>
> Not sure what is being recommended here. A developer is supposed to
> list all versions of all generates the grammar is capable with, and
> test them all, but generate a tarball with one of them? Or generate
> multiple tarballs?

I left out these details deliberately, because I think the developers
can come to their own conclusions and choices in this matter.

For instance, they can work with multiple generators, but pick the
output of one for redistribution.

If someone wants to ship the generated output from multiple generators
so the users have a choice of what to compile and run (in spite of not
having any of the respective generators installed) that would also
satisfy the recommended practice. I don't suspect anyone actually does 
that.

I hadn't wanted to enumerate all these choices because I thought it
would complicates the section and go off on a tangent that detracts
from the main message. Also, how people treat the output of a non-Bison
generator, and what is the best practice for that generator, is
off-topic in Bison documentation.

I can add a small number of words though.