dabeaz/ply

Health v2 · maintenance only

Flags: no_releases archived no_license

Adoption not part of the score

2909 stars · 477 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded

PLY is a pure-Python, zero-dependency implementation of the classic lex and yacc parsing tools, providing lexing and LALR(1) parsing. It is used to build parsers for programming languages, ASTs, one-pass compilers, and protocol decoders.

Use cases

• write a parser for a programming language in python
• build an abstract syntax tree from a grammar
• implement a lexer and LALR(1) parser without dependencies
• decode a custom protocol or DSL
• learn how lex and yacc style parsing works
• build a simple one-pass compiler in python

When to choose

• you want a faithful, minimal lex/yacc experience in pure Python with no dependencies
• you're teaching or learning compiler construction
• you need a small parser you can vendor directly into your project

When to avoid

• you need a maintained library - the author officially abandoned the project in December 2025
• you want modern parser-combinator or PEG ergonomics
• you need package-manager installation or long-term support guarantees

Facets

library · maturity abandoned

parser compiler developer-tools parsers programming-languages compilers developer-tools python cross-platform lex yacc lalr lexer parser-generator zero-dependency compiler-construction

Member repositories

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