|
| 1 | +# YAML Node Types Format |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +The YAML node-types format is a human-friendly alternative to tree-sitter's |
| 4 | +`node-types.json`. It can be converted to and from JSON using the |
| 5 | +`node_types_yaml` tool. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +## Overview |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +A YAML node-types file has three top-level sections: |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +```yaml |
| 12 | +supertypes: |
| 13 | + # Abstract union types |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +named: |
| 16 | + # Concrete AST nodes and leaf tokens |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +unnamed: |
| 19 | + # Punctuation and keyword tokens |
| 20 | +``` |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +All three sections are optional. If omitted, they default to empty. |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +## Supertypes |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +Supertypes are abstract groupings of node types (unions). Each supertype maps |
| 27 | +to a list of its members: |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +```yaml |
| 30 | +supertypes: |
| 31 | + _expression: |
| 32 | + - assignment |
| 33 | + - binary |
| 34 | + - identifier |
| 35 | + - call |
| 36 | +``` |
| 37 | +
|
| 38 | +This corresponds to the following JSON: |
| 39 | +
|
| 40 | +```json |
| 41 | +{ |
| 42 | + "type": "_expression", |
| 43 | + "named": true, |
| 44 | + "subtypes": [ |
| 45 | + { "type": "assignment", "named": true }, |
| 46 | + { "type": "binary", "named": true }, |
| 47 | + { "type": "identifier", "named": true }, |
| 48 | + { "type": "call", "named": true } |
| 49 | + ] |
| 50 | +} |
| 51 | +``` |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +Members are resolved as named or unnamed using the |
| 54 | +[type reference rules](#type-references) described below. |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +## Named nodes |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +Named nodes are concrete AST node types. Each entry is a node kind mapping to |
| 59 | +its fields. A node with no fields (a leaf token like `identifier`) uses an |
| 60 | +empty value: |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +```yaml |
| 63 | +named: |
| 64 | + identifier: |
| 65 | + constant: |
| 66 | +``` |
| 67 | +
|
| 68 | +```json |
| 69 | +{"type": "identifier", "named": true, "fields": {}}, |
| 70 | +{"type": "constant", "named": true, "fields": {}} |
| 71 | +``` |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +### Fields |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +Each field has a name, a multiplicity suffix, and a list of allowed types. |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +| Suffix | Meaning | JSON `multiple` | JSON `required` | |
| 78 | +| ------ | ------------ | --------------- | --------------- | |
| 79 | +| (none) | exactly one | `false` | `true` | |
| 80 | +| `?` | zero or one | `false` | `false` | |
| 81 | +| `+` | one or more | `true` | `true` | |
| 82 | +| `*` | zero or more | `true` | `false` | |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +Example: |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +```yaml |
| 87 | +named: |
| 88 | + assignment: |
| 89 | + left: _lhs |
| 90 | + right: _expression |
| 91 | +``` |
| 92 | +
|
| 93 | +```json |
| 94 | +{ |
| 95 | + "type": "assignment", |
| 96 | + "named": true, |
| 97 | + "fields": { |
| 98 | + "left": { |
| 99 | + "multiple": false, |
| 100 | + "required": true, |
| 101 | + "types": [{ "type": "_lhs", "named": true }] |
| 102 | + }, |
| 103 | + "right": { |
| 104 | + "multiple": false, |
| 105 | + "required": true, |
| 106 | + "types": [{ "type": "_expression", "named": true }] |
| 107 | + } |
| 108 | + } |
| 109 | +} |
| 110 | +``` |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +A field with multiple allowed types uses a list: |
| 113 | + |
| 114 | +```yaml |
| 115 | +named: |
| 116 | + binary: |
| 117 | + left: [_expression, _simple_numeric] |
| 118 | + operator: ["!=", "+", "&&"] |
| 119 | + right: _expression |
| 120 | +``` |
| 121 | +
|
| 122 | +A singleton list can be written as a bare value (as shown with `right` above). |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +### Unnamed children |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +Unnamed children (nodes that appear as children without a field name) are |
| 127 | +specified using the special `$children` field name, with the same suffixes: |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +```yaml |
| 130 | +named: |
| 131 | + argument_list: |
| 132 | + $children*: [_expression, block_argument, splat_argument] |
| 133 | +``` |
| 134 | + |
| 135 | +```json |
| 136 | +{ |
| 137 | + "type": "argument_list", |
| 138 | + "named": true, |
| 139 | + "fields": {}, |
| 140 | + "children": { |
| 141 | + "multiple": true, |
| 142 | + "required": false, |
| 143 | + "types": [ |
| 144 | + { "type": "_expression", "named": true }, |
| 145 | + { "type": "block_argument", "named": true }, |
| 146 | + { "type": "splat_argument", "named": true } |
| 147 | + ] |
| 148 | + } |
| 149 | +} |
| 150 | +``` |
| 151 | + |
| 152 | +## Unnamed tokens |
| 153 | + |
| 154 | +Unnamed tokens are punctuation, operators, and keywords that appear in the |
| 155 | +parse tree but don't have their own AST node type. They are listed as simple |
| 156 | +strings: |
| 157 | + |
| 158 | +```yaml |
| 159 | +unnamed: |
| 160 | + - "=" |
| 161 | + - "end" |
| 162 | + - "+" |
| 163 | + - "&&" |
| 164 | +``` |
| 165 | + |
| 166 | +```json |
| 167 | +{"type": "=", "named": false}, |
| 168 | +{"type": "end", "named": false}, |
| 169 | +{"type": "+", "named": false}, |
| 170 | +{"type": "&&", "named": false} |
| 171 | +``` |
| 172 | + |
| 173 | +When converting to YAML, unnamed tokens are always wrapped in quotes for |
| 174 | +visual clarity. This is purely cosmetic — YAML treats `end` and `"end"` as |
| 175 | +the same string. |
| 176 | + |
| 177 | +## Type references |
| 178 | + |
| 179 | +When a type name appears in a field's type list or a supertype's member list, |
| 180 | +it needs to be resolved as either named or unnamed. The rules are: |
| 181 | + |
| 182 | +1. If the name only appears in `named` or `supertypes`, it is **named**. |
| 183 | +2. If the name only appears in `unnamed`, it is **unnamed**. |
| 184 | +3. If the name appears in both, it defaults to **named**. |
| 185 | +4. To explicitly reference an unnamed type in the ambiguous case, use the |
| 186 | + map form: |
| 187 | + |
| 188 | +```yaml |
| 189 | +named: |
| 190 | + example: |
| 191 | + field: { unnamed: foo } |
| 192 | +``` |
| 193 | + |
| 194 | +In practice, ambiguity is rare — names like `end`, `+`, `if` are almost |
| 195 | +always only unnamed, while names like `identifier`, `assignment` are only |
| 196 | +named. |
| 197 | + |
| 198 | +## Complete example |
| 199 | + |
| 200 | +```yaml |
| 201 | +supertypes: |
| 202 | + _expression: |
| 203 | + - assignment |
| 204 | + - binary |
| 205 | + - identifier |
| 206 | +
|
| 207 | +named: |
| 208 | + assignment: |
| 209 | + left: _expression |
| 210 | + right?: _expression |
| 211 | + binary: |
| 212 | + left: [_expression, _simple_numeric] |
| 213 | + operator: ["!=", "+"] |
| 214 | + right: _expression |
| 215 | + argument_list: |
| 216 | + $children*: [_expression, block_argument] |
| 217 | + identifier: |
| 218 | + constant: |
| 219 | +
|
| 220 | +unnamed: |
| 221 | + - "!=" |
| 222 | + - "+" |
| 223 | + - "=" |
| 224 | + - "end" |
| 225 | +``` |
| 226 | + |
| 227 | +## CLI usage |
| 228 | + |
| 229 | +Convert YAML to JSON: |
| 230 | + |
| 231 | +``` |
| 232 | +node_types_yaml input.yaml > node-types.json |
| 233 | +``` |
| 234 | + |
| 235 | +Convert JSON to YAML: |
| 236 | + |
| 237 | +``` |
| 238 | +node_types_yaml --from-json node-types.json > node-types.yaml |
| 239 | +``` |
| 240 | + |
| 241 | +Both commands also accept input from stdin if no file argument is given. |
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