An inverse parser, as its name suggests, is a
parser
Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ''parsing'' comes from Lati ...
that works in reverse. Rather than the user typing into the computer, the computer presents a list of words fitting the context, and excludes words that would be unreasonable. This ensures the user knows all of their options. The concept and an implementation were originally developed and
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
ed by
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
. A few years later, it was independently developed by
Chris Crawford, a game designer, for his game,
Trust & Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot, but the implementation was different enough not to infringe on the patent.
See also
*
Parser generator
In computer science, a compiler-compiler or compiler generator is a programming tool that creates a parser, interpreter, or compiler from some form of formal description of a programming language and machine.
The most common type of compiler- ...
External links
How to Build an Inverse Parser an essay by Chris Crawford originally published in the
Journal of Computer Game Design
Parsing
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