AST Parser for C

Overview

This is an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) parser for C code, built using Rust, clang for parsing, and prost for Protocol Buffers serialization. The tool takes a C file as input, generates its AST, and serializes it into a Protobuf format for further analysis or visualization.

Features

• C Parsing with libclang: Utilizes clang bindings in Rust to parse C code and generate the AST.
• AST Representation: Constructs an AST as a hierarchical tree structure.
• Protocol Buffers Serialization: Uses prost to serialize the AST to a .pb file.
• Extensible: Modular design for easy extension to support more language features or output formats.

Project Structure

/ast-parser
├── src
│   ├── main.rs             # Main application logic
│   ├── ast_proto.rs        # Generated protobuf definitions
│
├── proto
│   └── ast.proto           # Protobuf schema for AST
│
├── Cargo.toml              # Rust dependencies and configuration
└── README.md               # Project documentation (this file)

Prerequisites

• Rust (Stable or Nightly)
• libclang (v13 or later)
• Protoc (for Protocol Buffers)
• prost-build (for Rust-Protobuf integration)

Installation

1. Install libclang:

sudo apt install libclang-dev

2. Install Rust (if not already installed):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

3. Install protoc:

sudo apt install protobuf-compiler

4. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/nabiel/ast-parser.git
cd ast-parser

Build and Run

To build and run the project, use the following commands:

cargo build
cargo run

Parsing a C File

Ensure there is a C file (test.c) in the project root.

cargo run

The resulting AST will be saved as ast_output.pb in the project directory.

Example Output

Ast {
    root: Some(
        AstNode {
            node_type: "TranslationUnit",
            name: "",
            children: [
                AstNode {
                    node_type: "FunctionDecl",
                    name: "main",
                    children: []
                }
            ]
        }
    )
}

License

MIT License

Author

Nabiel Ahammed

Contact

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nabiel-ahammed
• GitHub: github.com/naybyal