1. ABOUT ========

This is the Python package 'antlr3', which is required to use parsers created by the ANTLR3 tool. See http://www.antlr.org/ for more information about ANTLR3.

2. STATUS =========

The Python target for ANTLR3 is still in beta. Documentation is lacking, some bits of the code is not yet done, some functionality has not been tested yet. Also the API might change a bit - it currently mimics the Java implementation, but it may be made a bit more pythonic here and there.

WARNING: Currently the runtime library for V3.1 is not compatible with recognizers generated by ANTLR V3.0.x. If you are an application developer, then the suggested way to solve this is to package the correct runtime with your application. Installing the runtime in the global site-packages directory may not be a good idea. It is still undetermined, if a future release of the V3.1 runtime will be compatible with V3.0.x recognizers or if future runtimes V3.2+ will be compatible with V3.1 recognizers. Sorry for the inconvenience.

3. DOWNLOAD ===========

This runtime is part of the ANTLR distribution. The latest version can be found at http://www.antlr.org/download.html.

If you are interested in the latest, most bleeding edge version, have a look at the perforce depot at http://fisheye2.cenqua.com/browse/antlr. There are tarballs ready to download, so you don't have to install the perforce client.

4. INSTALLATION ===============

Just like any other Python package: $ python setup.py install

See http://docs.python.org/inst/ for more information.

If this fails due to an obscure setuptools error, you may need a newer bootstrap script (ez_setup.py): see https://pypi.python.org/pypi/setuptools/ for full setuptools installation instructions, or simply download the given ez_setup.py script, place it in this folder, and run the above setup.py command.

5. DOCUMENTATION ================

Documentation (as far as it exists) can be found in the wiki http://www.antlr.org/wiki/display/ANTLR3/Antlr3PythonTarget

6. REPORTING BUGS =================

Please send bug reports to the ANTLR mailing list http://www.antlr.org:8080/mailman/listinfo/antlr-interest or pink@odahoda.de.

Existing bugs may appear someday in the bugtracker: http://www.antlr.org:8888/browse/ANTLR

7. HACKING ==========

Only the runtime package can be found here. There are also some StringTemplate files in 'src/org/antlr/codegen/templates/Python/' and some Java code in 'src/org/antlr/codegen/PythonTarget.java' (of the main ANTLR3 source distribution).

If there are no directories 'tests' and 'unittests' in 'runtime/Python', you should fetch the latest ANTLR3 version from the perforce depot. See section DOWNLOAD. You'll need java and ant in order to compile and use the tool. Be sure to properly setup your CLASSPATH. (FIXME: is there some generic information, how to build it yourself? I should point to it to avoid duplication.)

You can then use the commands $ python setup.py unittest $ python setup.py functest to ensure that changes do not break existing behaviour.

Please send patches to pink@odahoda.de. For larger code contributions you'll have to sign the "Developer's Certificate of Origin", which can be found on http://www.antlr.org/license.html or use the feedback form at http://www.antlr.org/misc/feedback.