Using a C struct to represent a node in a parse tree ... how many fields in the struct?

Hi Folks,


The compiler book [1] that I am reading says this:


The most obvious way to represent the information gained from lexical and
syntax analysis is as a tree along the lines of the parse tree. In C this is
suitably handled using a simple struct for each node:


struct node
{
int nodetype ;
struct node *field1 ;
struct node *field2 ;
struct node *field3 ;
struct node *field4 ;
struct node *field5 ;
} ;


But, but, but, ..what if a node requires more than 5 fields; how is that
handled?


/Roger


[1] Introduction to Compiling Techniques, A First Course Using ANSI C, LEX and
YACC by J. P. Bennett, page 47.
[Use a bigger struct. You know what kind of nodes your parser creates, so define
a struct that does what you want. Personally, I prefer to define a struct for
each node type and a general node that is a union, or perhaps a union of
pointers. -John]

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