Cdecl-dump - represent C declarations visually
A small tool that parses C declarations and outputs a simple visual representation at each stage, as it encounters arrays, pointers or functions. The program uses a table-driven lexer and a hand-written, shift-reduce parser. No external dependencies apart from the standard library.
Cdecl-dump - represent C declarations visually launched on December 8, 2025 with 35 votes, #489 of 11,628 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Cdecl-dump is a tool that parses C declarations and displays a visual representation showing how arrays, pointers, and functions are structured at each parsing stage. It uses a table-driven lexer and hand-written shift-reduce parser to break down complex C syntax into understandable diagrams. The tool requires only the standard library with no external dependencies, making it lightweight and easy to integrate.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Dump complex C declarations visually. Contribute to bbu/cdecl-dump development by creating an account on GitHub.
./cdecl-dump "int a" ./cdecl-dump "void f(int a)" ./cdecl-dump "unsigned char *const *arr[20][30]" ./cdecl-dump "int (*const fp[20])(void)" Building ./build.sh produces a debug build with additional tracing of the parsing stages DEBUG=0 ./build.sh produces an optimised executable Bugs The program doesn't do strict validation of the declarator in certain cases. Unlike the rules of C, it allows functions to return arrays and arrays to have functions as their elements. Only built-in types are supported. For example, size_t or uint64_t will not be accepted. Screenshot Each printed stage mirrors the eventual use of the declared variable – it is a sample sub-expression of the intended use. We…from github.com
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