Lab 4: Syntax Checker
Due Thursday 25 February 2021, 11:59 PM
Minimum Submission Requirements
● Ensure that your Lab4 folder contains the following files (note the capitalization convention):
○ Lab4.asm ○ README.txt ○ test1.txt ○ test2.txt ○ test3.txt
● Commit and push your repository
● Complete the Google Form with the correct commit ID of your final submission
Lab Objective
In this lab, you will develop a simple syntax checker that opens a file and
determines whether it has balanced braces, brackets, and parentheses. This type of
syntax checking is often used in programs to determine the point of a “syntax error”
that the programmer needs to fix. You will use MIPS and the stack to check the
balance and report either the location of a mismatch on failure or the number of
matched items on success.
Lab Preparation
1. Read sections 6.4, 8.2, 9.2 from Introduction To MIPS Assembly Language Programming.
Specification
You will write a program in the MIPS32 language using the MARS integrated development
environment to check the balance of braces {}, brackets [], parentheses (). On an
error, you will report a 32-bit integer byte offset (starting from 0) and which
brace, bracket or parenthesis is unmatched. On success, you will print the number of
matched braces, brackets and parentheses (collectively referred to as “braces”).
Input
You will be using program arguments instead of a syscall to take user inputs. See this document on how to use program arguments. The program argument will specify a file that is to be read through and checked for syntax errors. The file will contain printable ASCII characters only.
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Sample Outputs
Working input file TEST.txt containing: ()[{(hello)}]
*Note that the above uses “braces” to collectively refer to all of the braces,
brackets and parentheses.
Improper filename error due to first character not being a letter:
Improper filename error due to being too long:
Proper file with brace mismatch for TEST.txt containing: [a[b[c[d]c]b}a]
*Note that above the first char “[” is at index/byte offset 0, “a” is at index/byte
offset 1 and so on to get “}” at index 12. In this example, the closing brace doesn’t
match the brace on the stack so you report the ending mismatched index and brace.
Proper file with brace mismatch for TEST.txt containing: [a[a]a]a]
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You entered the file: TEST.txt
SUCCESS: There are 4 pairs of braces. — program is finished running —
You entered the file: 123_TEST.txt
ERROR: Invalid program argument. — program is finished running —
You entered the file: TEST_123456789012345.txt
ERROR: Invalid program argument. — program is finished running —
You entered the file: TEST.txt
ERROR – There is a brace mismatch: } at index 12 — program is finished running —
You entered the file: TEST.txt
ERROR – There is a brace mismatch: ] at index 8 — program is finished running —
In this example, there is an extra closing brace and the stack is empty so
you just report the extra brace.
Proper file with multiple braces remaining on the stack: ((({{[(here)
*Note that the remaining braces on the stack are printed in reverse order (i.e. they are popped off the stack one at a time). This check should only be done if the entire input has been processed and every closing bracket found a match. You should NOT print this error if there was an earlier brace mismatch.
For full credit, the output should match this format exactly. Take note of the:
1. Exact wording of the statements.
2. Program argument printed on a new line.
3. Blank line under the program argument.
4. Error or success message printed on its own line. 5. Blank line under the final result message.
Functionality
The functionality of your program will be as follows:
You entered the file: TEST.txt
ERROR – Brace(s) still on stack: [{{((( — program is finished running —
1.
2. 3.
4.
5.
Read a file name from the program arguments (file must be located in the same directory as MARS.jar file in order for the read to work. Just drag and drop the jar file into the Lab4 folder, but do not push the jar to the remote repo!).
● Valid names use ASCII characters a-z, A-Z, 0-9, period and underscore (You can assume no spaces!). They must start with a letter.
● Only accept program argument input with a max of 20 characters including the suffix.
Print the user’s input.
Open the file and read through a buffer of characters at a time.
● The buffer should be 128 bytes of statically allocated memory (i.e. in the “data” segment).
● Your program should iterate through the buffer and decide whether to push or pop from the stack (or do nothing) for each character.
● Your program should count total pairs of brackets, braces, and parentheses.
● When the buffer is empty, it should read again from the file and repeat unless the end of the file is reached.
You should print an ERROR message if:
● The file name was invalid.
● An extra or mismatched brace, bracket or parenthesis is found.
● You reached the end of the file and there are unmatched items still on
the stack.
You should print a SUCCESS message if:
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● The end of the file is reached AND the stack is empty AND there were matching closing braces, brackets and parentheses in the correct order for every opening one.
6. Exit the program cleanly using syscall 10.
Pseudocode
You should create pseudocode that outlines your program. Your pseudocode
will appear underneath the header comment in Lab4.asm. Guidelines on developing pseudocode can be found here: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/how-to-write-a-pseudo-code/
You may modify your pseudocode as you develop your program. Your pseudocode must also be present in your final submission.
Program Arguments
Your code must read and print the program argument to the screen. For example:
Input Output
Automation
Note that part of our grading script is automated, so it is imperative that your program’s output matches the specification exactly. Output
that deviates from the spec will cause point deduction.
Your code should end cleanly without error. Make sure to use the exit
syscall (syscall 10). Files
Lab4.asm
This file contains your pseudocode and assembly code. Follow the code documentation guidelines here.
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You entered the file: anotherTEST.txt
SUCCESS: There are 0 pairs of braces. — program is finished running —
README.txt
This file must be a plain text (.txt) file. It should contain your first and last name (as it appears on Canvas) and your CruzID. Instructions for the README can be found here.
test1.txt test2.txt test3.txt
You should create three of your own test cases named as above. These should be tests
for success and errors!
Google Form
You are required to answer questions about the lab in this Google Form. Answers, excluding the ones asking about resources used and collaboration should total at the very least 150 words.
Syscalls
When printing the integer values, you may use syscall 1 (print integer). When opening
and reading a file, you should use syscall 13 (open file), 14 (read file) and 16
(close file). For syscall 13 set the mode register to a value of 0 ($a2=0, the mode register is ignored in MIPS). For the flag register ($a1), read the documentation provided in the help section of MARS to figure out what value to set it to (hint want to set it to read).
File that is read must be located in the same directory as MARS.jar file. You should close your file when you are done using syscall 16.
Make sure to exit your program cleanly using syscall 10.
Note
It is important that you do not hard-code t he values for any of the addresses in your program.
Other Requirements
Turn Off Delayed Branching
From the settings menu, make sure Delayed branching is unchecked
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Checking this option will insert a “delay slot” which makes the next instruction
after a branch execute, no matter the outcome of the branch. To avoid having your
program behave in unpredictable ways, make sure Delayed branching is turned off. In
addition, add a NOP instruction after each branch instruction. The NOP instruction
guarantees that your program will function properly even if you forgot to turn off
delayed branching. For example:
MIPS Memory Configuration
To find the program arguments more easily in memory, you may choose to develop your
program using a compact memory configuration (Settings -> Memory Configuration).
However, your program MUST function properly using the Default memory configuration. You should not run into issues as long as you do not hard-code any memory addresses in your program. Make sure to test your program thoroughly using the Default memory configuration.
LI $t12
LOOP: NOP
ADDI $t0 $t0 1
BLT $t0 $t1 LOOP
NOP # nop added after the branch instruction ADD $t3 $t5 $t6
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A Note About Academic Integrity
Please review the syllabus and look at the examples in the first lecture for acceptable and unacceptable collaboration. You should be doing this assignment completely by yourself!
Grading Rubric (100 points total)
15 pt assembles without errors
12 pt three test cases
65 pt output matches the specification
Note:
5 pt exact wording and spacing of messages
5 pt error check invalid file names
10 pt reads entire file
15 pt uses stack correctly
5 pt detects mismatched braces
5 pt detects mismatched brackets
5 pt detects mismatch parentheses
5 pt outputs correct number of matching braces, brackets, parentheses
10 pt byte offset of mismatch is correct
credit for this section only if program assembles without errors
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8 pt documentation
4 pt README file complete
4 pt Google form complete with at least 150 words
-50% if program only runs in a specific memory configuration or memory
addresses are hard coded
-25% incorrect naming convention
-25% for putting the MARS jar file in your repo
-100% no Google form submitted or incorrect commit ID
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