nearley vs chevrotain vs peggy vs jison
JavaScript Parsing Libraries Comparison
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What's JavaScript Parsing Libraries?

JavaScript parsing libraries are essential tools for interpreting and transforming code written in various programming languages or domain-specific languages (DSLs). They provide developers with the ability to define grammars and parse input strings into structured data, enabling the creation of interpreters, compilers, and other tools that require understanding of syntax and semantics. These libraries differ in their design philosophies, performance characteristics, and ease of use, catering to a variety of parsing needs in web development and beyond.

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nearley3,217,7723,687-1984 years agoMIT
chevrotain1,942,1712,6151.35 MB382 years agoApache-2.0
peggy231,5821,060482 kB2815 days agoMIT
jison54,3694,371-1618 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: nearley vs chevrotain vs peggy vs jison

Performance

  • nearley:

    Nearley excels in handling complex and ambiguous grammars, but this flexibility can come at a performance cost. It is optimized for speed but may not match Chevrotain in scenarios requiring extreme performance.

  • chevrotain:

    Chevrotain is designed for high performance, capable of parsing large inputs quickly due to its efficient implementation of the parsing algorithm. It minimizes backtracking and optimizes the parsing process, making it suitable for real-time applications.

  • peggy:

    Peggy offers good performance for most use cases, leveraging modern JavaScript features. It is designed to be efficient while maintaining readability and ease of use, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.

  • jison:

    Jison generates parsers that are generally efficient for small to medium-sized grammars. However, performance may degrade with highly complex grammars due to the inherent limitations of the LALR parsing technique it employs.

Grammar Complexity

  • nearley:

    Nearley supports a wide range of grammar complexities, including ambiguous grammars. It allows for more expressive parsing strategies, making it suitable for intricate language definitions.

  • chevrotain:

    Chevrotain supports complex grammars, including those with advanced features like semantic predicates and context-sensitive parsing. This makes it ideal for building parsers for sophisticated programming languages or DSLs.

  • peggy:

    Peggy is designed for ease of use and supports a variety of grammar types, including context-free grammars. It strikes a balance between complexity and usability, making it a good choice for custom languages.

  • jison:

    Jison is best suited for simpler grammars and may struggle with highly complex or ambiguous language constructs. It is more straightforward to use for projects with less demanding parsing requirements.

Ease of Use

  • nearley:

    Nearley is user-friendly and allows for intuitive grammar definitions. Its documentation and examples make it accessible for developers looking to implement complex parsing without extensive boilerplate code.

  • chevrotain:

    Chevrotain has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive feature set and flexibility. However, once mastered, it provides powerful tools for building sophisticated parsers.

  • peggy:

    Peggy is designed with modern JavaScript developers in mind, offering a clean and straightforward API. Its syntax is easy to understand, making it a good choice for those new to parsing.

  • jison:

    Jison is known for its simplicity and ease of use, allowing developers to quickly define grammars and generate parsers with minimal setup. This makes it a great choice for beginners or rapid prototyping.

Community and Support

  • nearley:

    Nearley has a vibrant community and is well-documented, making it easy to find resources and examples. Its active development ensures that it stays up-to-date with modern JavaScript practices.

  • chevrotain:

    Chevrotain has a growing community and is actively maintained, with extensive documentation and examples available. This support can be invaluable for developers facing challenges during implementation.

  • peggy:

    Peggy benefits from a modern approach and has a supportive community. Its documentation is thorough, and there are many examples available, making it easier for developers to get started.

  • jison:

    Jison has been around for a while and has a stable user base, but its community is smaller compared to others. Documentation is available, but may not be as comprehensive as more modern libraries.

Extensibility

  • nearley:

    Nearley is designed to be extensible, allowing developers to create custom rules and integrate additional features easily. This flexibility is a key advantage for projects requiring tailored parsing solutions.

  • chevrotain:

    Chevrotain is highly extensible, allowing developers to create custom parsing strategies and integrate with other tools and libraries. This makes it suitable for building specialized parsers tailored to specific needs.

  • peggy:

    Peggy offers a modular approach, enabling developers to extend its functionality with plugins or custom parsing strategies. This makes it adaptable for various parsing needs.

  • jison:

    Jison provides basic extensibility through its grammar definitions but may not support advanced customization options as effectively as Chevrotain or Nearley.

How to Choose: nearley vs chevrotain vs peggy vs jison
  • nearley:

    Opt for Nearley if you need a powerful parser that supports ambiguous grammars and offers advanced features like context-free grammars. It is particularly useful for projects that require flexibility and the ability to handle complex parsing scenarios without sacrificing performance.

  • chevrotain:

    Choose Chevrotain if you need a high-performance parser that supports complex grammars and requires fine-grained control over parsing behavior. It is particularly suitable for applications that demand speed and efficiency, such as language servers or real-time code analysis tools.

  • peggy:

    Use Peggy if you are looking for a modern parsing library that is easy to use and integrates well with JavaScript's async features. It is a good choice for projects that require a straightforward syntax and support for parsing DSLs or custom languages.

  • jison:

    Select Jison if you prefer a parser generator that is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with JavaScript. It is ideal for projects where you want to quickly generate parsers from a grammar specification, especially for simple to moderately complex languages.

Similar Npm Packages to nearley

nearley is a powerful parser generator for JavaScript that allows developers to create parsers for context-free grammars. It is particularly useful for applications that require custom parsing of languages or data formats. Nearley is designed to be simple to use while providing the flexibility needed for complex parsing tasks. It supports a variety of features, such as grammar composition, allowing developers to build upon existing grammars easily. While nearley is a robust choice for parsing needs, there are several alternatives available in the ecosystem. Here are a few notable ones:

  • antlr4 is a popular parser generator that can be used to build parsers for a wide range of languages. ANTLR (Another Tool for Language Recognition) provides a powerful framework for defining grammars and generating parsers in multiple programming languages, including JavaScript. It is well-suited for complex parsing tasks and offers features such as syntax tree generation and error handling. If you need a comprehensive solution for building parsers for complex languages or DSLs (Domain-Specific Languages), ANTLR4 is an excellent choice.
  • jison is a parser generator that is similar to yacc/bison but designed for JavaScript. It allows developers to define grammars in a straightforward way and generates parsers that can be used in web applications. Jison is particularly useful for creating parsers for simple programming languages or data formats. If you are looking for a lightweight and easy-to-use parser generator for JavaScript, Jison is a solid option.
  • pegjs is another parser generator for JavaScript that uses Parsing Expression Grammar (PEG) to define grammars. PEG is a formal grammar framework that allows for more expressive grammars compared to traditional context-free grammars. PEG.js is designed to be easy to use and integrates well with JavaScript applications. If you prefer a parser generator that leverages PEG and offers a straightforward API, PEG.js is worth considering.

To see how nearley compares with antlr4, jison, and pegjs, check out the comparison: Comparing antlr4 vs jison vs nearley vs pegjs.

Similar Npm Packages to chevrotain

chevrotain is a powerful parsing library for JavaScript that allows developers to create parsers for custom languages and domain-specific languages (DSLs). It is designed to be fast and efficient, providing a simple API for defining grammars and parsing input text. Chevrotain is particularly useful for applications that require complex parsing capabilities, such as compilers, interpreters, or any tool that needs to process structured text. Its flexibility and performance make it a popular choice among developers looking to implement custom parsing solutions.

There are several alternatives to chevrotain that also provide parsing capabilities:

  • jison is a parser generator that can create parsers from a formal grammar specification. It is inspired by Bison and Yacc, two well-known parser generators in the C/C++ ecosystem. Jison allows developers to define grammars in a concise way and generates JavaScript code that can parse input according to those grammars. If you are familiar with traditional parser generators and prefer a similar approach in JavaScript, jison is a solid choice.
  • nearley is a simple, powerful, and flexible parsing library that uses a parsing technique called Earley parsing. It allows developers to define grammars in a straightforward way and can handle ambiguous grammars, making it suitable for a wide range of parsing tasks. Nearley is particularly useful for applications that require the ability to parse complex or ambiguous input, and its ease of use makes it a popular choice for developers looking for a robust parsing solution.
  • pegjs is another parser generator that creates parsers from a formal grammar defined in a PEG (Parsing Expression Grammar) format. PEGs are a powerful way to define grammars, and pegjs provides a simple syntax for writing them. The generated parsers are efficient and can be used for a variety of parsing tasks. If you prefer the PEG approach and want a straightforward way to create parsers in JavaScript, pegjs is an excellent option.

To see how chevrotain compares with jison, nearley, and pegjs, check out the comparison: Comparing chevrotain vs jison vs nearley vs pegjs.

Similar Npm Packages to peggy

peggy is a powerful and flexible parser generator for JavaScript. It allows developers to define grammars in a concise and readable way, enabling the creation of parsers for various languages or data formats. Peggy is particularly well-suited for projects that require custom parsing logic, such as compilers, interpreters, or data transformation tools. Its ability to generate efficient parsers from EBNF (Extended Backus-Naur Form) grammars makes it a popular choice among developers looking for a robust parsing solution.

While Peggy is a strong option for parsing tasks, there are several alternatives in the JavaScript ecosystem that also provide parsing capabilities. Here are a few notable ones:

  • chevrotain is a fast and efficient parser library that focuses on performance and flexibility. It allows developers to create parsers using a simple API and supports both lexical and syntactical analysis. Chevrotain is particularly useful for applications that require high-performance parsing, such as IDEs or code analysis tools. Its ability to handle complex grammars and provide detailed error reporting makes it a strong alternative to Peggy for certain use cases.

  • jison is a parser generator that is inspired by Bison and Yacc. It allows developers to define grammars in a straightforward manner and generates JavaScript parsers from those definitions. Jison is well-suited for projects that require a traditional parser generator approach, and it can be a good choice for those who are familiar with Bison or Yacc. Its simplicity and ease of use make it a viable alternative to Peggy for many parsing tasks.

  • nearley is a versatile parser toolkit that supports a wide range of parsing techniques, including context-free grammars and PEG (Parsing Expression Grammar). Nearley allows developers to define grammars in a clear and concise way, and it can handle complex parsing scenarios with ease. Its flexibility and support for various parsing strategies make it a strong candidate for projects that require advanced parsing capabilities.

To explore how Peggy compares with Chevrotain, Jison, and Nearley, check out the comparison: Comparing chevrotain vs jison vs nearley vs peggy.

Similar Npm Packages to jison

jison is a parser generator for JavaScript that allows developers to create parsers from a formal grammar. It is inspired by the popular yacc parser generator and provides a simple way to define grammars using a syntax that is easy to understand. With jison, you can generate parsers that can process and interpret structured text, making it useful for applications like compilers, interpreters, and data format parsers. Its flexibility and ease of use make it a popular choice for developers looking to implement custom parsing solutions in their JavaScript applications.

While jison is a powerful tool for parsing, there are alternatives available that may better suit specific needs:

  • nearley is a versatile parser generator that is designed to handle a wide range of grammars, including ambiguous ones. It uses a different approach than traditional parser generators, allowing for more flexibility in grammar definitions. Nearley is particularly useful for complex parsing tasks and supports features like context-free grammars and custom actions. If you need a parser that can handle intricate language constructs or if you want to work with ambiguous grammars, nearley is an excellent choice.
  • pegjs is another parser generator that focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It allows developers to define grammars using a PEG (Parsing Expression Grammar) syntax, which is intuitive and straightforward. PEGs provide a way to describe syntax without ambiguity, making pegjs a great option for parsing tasks where clarity is essential. If you are looking for a parser generator that emphasizes simplicity and a clear grammar definition, pegjs is worth considering.

To see how jison compares with nearley and pegjs, check out the comparison: Comparing jison vs nearley vs pegjs.

README for nearley

nearley ↗️

JS.ORG npm version

nearley is a simple, fast and powerful parsing toolkit. It consists of:

  1. A powerful, modular DSL for describing languages
  2. An efficient, lightweight Earley parser
  3. Loads of tools, editor plug-ins, and other goodies!

nearley is a streaming parser with support for catching errors gracefully and providing all parsings for ambiguous grammars. It is compatible with a variety of lexers (we recommend moo). It comes with tools for creating tests, railroad diagrams and fuzzers from your grammars, and has support for a variety of editors and platforms. It works in both node and the browser.

Unlike most other parser generators, nearley can handle any grammar you can define in BNF (and more!). In particular, while most existing JS parsers such as PEGjs and Jison choke on certain grammars (e.g. left recursive ones), nearley handles them easily and efficiently by using the Earley parsing algorithm.

nearley is used by a wide variety of projects:

nearley is an npm staff pick.

Documentation

Please visit our website https://nearley.js.org to get started! You will find a tutorial, detailed reference documents, and links to several real-world examples to get inspired.

Contributing

Please read this document before working on nearley. If you are interested in contributing but unsure where to start, take a look at the issues labeled "up for grabs" on the issue tracker, or message a maintainer (@kach or @tjvr on Github).

nearley is MIT licensed.

A big thanks to Nathan Dinsmore for teaching me how to Earley, Aria Stewart for helping structure nearley into a mature module, and Robin Windels for bootstrapping the grammar. Additionally, Jacob Edelman wrote an experimental JavaScript parser with nearley and contributed ideas for EBNF support. Joshua T. Corbin refactored the compiler to be much, much prettier. Bojidar Marinov implemented postprocessors-in-other-languages. Shachar Itzhaky fixed a subtle bug with nullables.

Citing nearley

If you are citing nearley in academic work, please use the following BibTeX entry.

@misc{nearley,
    author = "Kartik Chandra and Tim Radvan",
    title  = "{nearley}: a parsing toolkit for {JavaScript}",
    year   = {2014},
    doi    = {10.5281/zenodo.3897993},
    url    = {https://github.com/kach/nearley}
}
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