JuliaSyntax.jl vs flisp julia-parser

Palli · September 18, 2026, 5:51pm

JuliaSyntax.jl not mentioned, and “constructed by julia-parser.scm” is outdated?

doc/src/devdocs/ast.md?plain=1

7485f7ad5


      
          # Julia ASTs
          
          Julia has two representations of code. First there is a surface syntax AST returned by the parser
          (e.g. the [`Meta.parse`](@ref) function), and manipulated by macros. It is a structured representation
          of code as it is written, constructed by `julia-parser.scm` from a character stream. Next there
          is a lowered form, or IR (intermediate representation), which is used by type inference and code
          generation. In the lowered form there are fewer types of nodes, all macros are expanded, and all
          control flow is converted to explicit branches and sequences of statements. The lowered form is
          constructed by `julia-syntax.scm`.
          
          First we will focus on the AST, since it is needed to write macros.
          
          ## Surface syntax AST
          
          Front end ASTs consist almost entirely of [`Expr`](@ref)s and atoms (e.g. symbols, numbers).

It’s no longer used right, at least by default? There is another document mentioning both. I think I could clarify this document, I want to understand this for sure. I though flisp used for bootstrap now, not parsing, though I’m unsure, is parsing part of it? And you can (still) opt into the old flisp parser, is that going away?

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JuliaSyntax.jl vs flisp julia-parser

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