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Recursive Descent Parsing

• Parsing is the process of tracing or constructing a parse tree for a given input string

• Parsers usually do not analyze lexemes; that is done by a lexical analyzer, which is called by the parser

• A recursive descent parser traces out a parse tree in top-down order; it is a top-down parser

• Each nonterminal in the grammar has a subprogram associated with it; the subprogram parses all sentential forms that the nonterminal can generate

• The recursive descent parsing subprograms are built directly from the grammar rules

• Recursive descent parsers, like other top-down parsers, cannot be built from left-recursive grammars