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Xtext vs ANTLR vs Parser Combinators

• Edmundo Lopez Bobeda, Ph.D.
• Date : August 4, 2022
• Categories : Language engineering
• Tags : Xtext ,Antlr

So you have decided that you need a parser, a real one. Now you need to decide what to use to implement that parser. There are several choices:

• Create your own parser manually
• Use a parser combinator library like fastparse or parboiled2
• Use a parser generator, like Antlr
• Use a language workbench, like Xtext or Langium

Each choice has advantages and disadvantages that I will discuss in this post.

Create your own parser manually

It your main interest is to have an extremely fast and flexible parser, this is the way to go. Manual parser are mostly used for programming languages or in places where every bit of performance is needed. However, creating your own parser is a tedious, slow and repetitive process.