Feature #9: Validate Program Brackets
Understand how to validate program brackets using a stack to ensure matching pairs of parentheses, braces, and square brackets in code. Explore a step-by-step algorithm applied in compiler design to check syntax validity, focusing on nested structures and asynchronous functions. This lesson strengthens your ability to analyze code strings for correct bracket usage, a key skill for building compilers and solving related coding interview problems.
We'll cover the following...
Description
A compiler verifies multiple things during a specific language compilation. Sometimes, things get complex when new features are introduced in programming languages. For instance, consider the anonymous functions in JavaScript. Couple these with asynchronous calls, and functions nested inside functions, and things get even more complicated.
The compiler processes a piece of code and removes the line breaks, which leaves behind a string containing code with possibly nested braces, parentheses, and square brackets. Then, we take this string as input and validate that the braces, square brackets, and parentheses are all perfectly matched. The compiler verifies the brackets’ order to check the program’s validity and other verifications.
The following is the anonymous function structure:
alert((function(n) {
return !(n > 1)
? 1
: arguments.callee(n - 1) * n;
})(15));