---
name: "gelex"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "gobo"
version: "3.3-6"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/gelex"
---

# gelex(1)

lexical analyser to generate Eiffel classes

## NAME

gelex - lexical analyser to generate Eiffel classes

## SYNOPSIS

**gelex** *\[options\] files ...*

## DESCRIPTION

This manual page documents briefly the **gelex**, command. This manual page was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the original program does not have a manual page. Instead, it has documentation in HTML format; see below.

**gelex** is a program that reads an input file containing the description of a lexical scanner and generates an Eiffel class file to implement the scanner.  The description may contain option keywords, some of which can be implemented by command-line options mentioned below.

## OPTIONS

The programs follow the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two dashes (\`-'). A summary of options are included below. For a complete description, see the HTML pages.

- **--version**

  Print gelex version number to the standard output and exit.

- **--help**

  Print gelex usage message to the standard output and exit.

- **-a** *size*

  Some Eiffel compilers experience difficulties in processing large manifest arrays. This option directs gelex to split manifest arrays with more than *size* elements into several smaller arrays. This option can be disabled by setting *size* to 0. \[default: 3000\]

- **-b**

  Equivalent to **backup.**

- **-c**

  Equivalent to **nofull.**

- **-e**

  Equivalent to **ecs.**

- **-f**

  Equivalent to **full.**

- **-h**

  Synonym for --help.

- **-i**

  Equivalent to **case-insensitive.**

- **-m**

  Equivalent to **meta-ecs.**

- **-s**

  Equivalent to **nodefault.**

- **-V**

  Synonym for --version.

- **-w**

  Equivalent to **nowarn.**

- **-x**

  Write each semantic action into a separate routine. The default is to write all actions into the same routine, which can become too large for C back-end compilers to handle.

- **-z**

  The generated code uses an inspect instruction to find out which ation to execute. The default is to use binary-search implemented with if instructions.

- **-?**

  Synonym for --help.

- **-o** *filename*

  Equivalent to **outfile="filename"**

- **--**

  Mark the end of the options. Useful when the scanner description filename begins with character '-'.

- *filename*

  Name of gelex input file containing the scanner description. By convention gelex input filenames have the extension '.l', as in  **my\_scanner.l**. One is not required to follow this convention though.

## SEE ALSO

GOBO and its programs are documented fully by HTML pages in  **gobo-doc package.**

## AUTHOR

This manual page was written by Oliver Elphick \<Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk\>, and updated by Julien Lemoine \<speedblue@debian.org\> for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).