Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Thu, 14 Dec 1995 17:38:56 +0100 (MET)
From:      Christoph Kukulies <kuku@gilberto.physik.rwth-aachen.de>
To:        fd11@dial.pipex.com (Narinder Singh)
Cc:        questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD Lex or Flex?
Message-ID:  <199512141638.RAA18231@gilberto.physik.rwth-aachen.de>
In-Reply-To: <MAPI.Id.0016.00643131202020204530463030303032@MAPI.to.RFC822> from "Narinder Singh" at Dec 14, 95 08:36:32 am

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> 
> Dear sir,
> I am using Linux at the moment, but I am looking to go over to 
> FreeBSD. However before I do, I need to know some information about 
> Free BSD.
> 
> Does FreeBSD provide Lex or Flex?
> 
> The reason I need to know is because I am trying to compile a 
> software application from the Georgia Institute Of Technology. This 
> application uses Yacc and Lex to create a C preprocessor. However, my 
> version of Linux comes with Flex ver 2.5.2, which does not give the 
> desired result. Therefore, I am trying locate a copy of Lex to use 
> with FreeBSD.
> 
> If FreeBSD does not come with Lex then do you know where I could 
> download a copy that will run under FreeBSD?

I doubt that you ever will obtain a AT&T lex source version
so flex is the way to go anyway.

FreeBSD 2.1 is (still) using Flex 2.4.7. Though it is named lex
it really isn't. The naming is just for compatibility purposes with
Makefiles etc.

Have you tried with the lex compatibility switch:

-l     turns  on  maximum  compatibility with the original
       AT&T lex implementation, at a considerable  perfor-
       mance  cost.   This option is incompatible with -+,
       -f, -F, -Cf, or -CF.  See lexdoc(1) for details.

It is absolutely no problem to compile a current version of flex
(2.5.8 or where they presently are at). I often grabbed flex
from the net and compiled it out of the box under FreeBSD
when I was in doubt about the version of flex FreeBSD was using.

> 
> 
> Yours faithfully,
> 
> Narinder Singh
> Research Manager, Simulation
> Visionics Europe Ltd
> Email: fd11@dial.pipex.com
> 
> (I've experienced no problems when I moved from Yacc to Bison).
> 

--Chris Christoph P. U. Kukulies kuku@gil.physik.rwth-aachen.de



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199512141638.RAA18231>