<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9"> <TITLE>Lex and YACC primer/HOWTO: What Lex & YACC can do for you</TITLE> <LINK HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-3.html" REL=next> <LINK HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-1.html" REL=previous> <LINK HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO.html#toc2" REL=contents> </HEAD> <BODY> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO.html#toc2">Contents</A> <HR> <H2><A NAME="s2">2. What Lex & YACC can do for you</A></H2> <P>When properly used, these programs allow you to parse complex languages with ease. This is a great boon when you want to read a configuration file, or want to write a compiler for any language you (or anyone else) might have invented. <P>With a little help, which this document will hopefully provide, you will find that you will never write a parser again by hand - Lex & YACC are the tools to do this. <P> <H2><A NAME="ss2.1">2.1 What each program does on its own</A> </H2> <P>Although these programs shine when used together, they each serve a different purpose. The next chapter will explain what each part does. <P> <HR> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Lex-YACC-HOWTO.html#toc2">Contents</A> </BODY> </HTML>