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Glite Dictionary
💻 A tokenizer tool ⚖️ A law
lex

lex

9.9
A computer program that makes code to find words and symbols in text
  • noun
  • /lɛks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lex
  • Lexing and parsing is a great example of coroutines in action; the wonder that is lex/yacc manages to generate C code that implements coroutines for lexing and parsing.

Examples

  • The software developer used lex to create a tokenizer for the programming language compiler.

  • To improve the efficiency of the parser, the team implemented lex as their lexical analyzer.

  • The lex.

    The Time Machine (2002)

  • Again, someone who accepts Socrates' critique of the lex talionis would be likely to be critical of vindictive behavior in matters of war and peace.

    Academic text (2000)

  • In compiler construction, lex plays a crucial role in transforming input strings into tokens.

Compounds

lex talionis
  • Formal
1 9.9

A rule that a punishment is equal to the crime, like 'an eye for an eye'

How Complete

parser
  • Specialized
4 7.1
syntax checker
  • Specialized
3.8
lex
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

lex singular
lexes plural

Etymology

The word lex for the program comes from the Greek lexis, which means 'word'. Think of lexical or lexicon; the program looks at words or small parts of text in code, so the name lex reminds you it handles 'words'.