US Patent 7089541 Modular parser architecture with mini parsers

A modular parser architecture and methods related thereto make use of a number of miniparsers. Each miniparser is capable of receiving input and generating an output dependent thereon. In one embodiment, a lexer or a miniparser capable of lexical analysis receives certain code and provides an abstract syntax tree. Each miniparser performs operations on a set of syntactical constructs to produce a corresponding output syntax tree, which in turn may become an input syntax tree for a next miniparser which may operate on a different set of syntactical constructs.