Parser Combinators
Parser combinators are a functional programming technique for building parsers by combining small, reusable parsing functions into more complex ones. They treat parsers as first-class values that can be composed using higher-order functions, enabling modular and declarative parsing of structured text or data. This approach is commonly used in language processing, configuration parsing, and data format handling.
Developers should learn parser combinators when they need to implement custom parsers for domain-specific languages, configuration files, or data formats without relying on external tools like lex/yacc. They are particularly useful in functional programming languages (e.g., Haskell, Scala) for creating maintainable and testable parsers, as they allow incremental development and easy error handling. Use cases include parsing JSON-like structures, log files, or custom query languages in applications.