adding proof of context-sensitivy of raw string literals

diff --git a/src/grammar/raw-string-literal-ambiguity.md b/src/grammar/raw-string-literal-ambiguity.md
index 6b63bbcb4f067c923e43c49c70701c40aa1bc544..c909f2333148a99d3482373c91e279a2dad2a1ce 100644 (file)
--- a/src/grammar/raw-string-literal-ambiguity.md
+++ b/src/grammar/raw-string-literal-ambiguity.md
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 Rust's lexical grammar is not context-free. Raw string literals are the source
 of the problem. Informally, a raw string literal is an `r`, followed by `N`
 hashes (where N can be zero), a quote, any characters, then a quote followed
-by `N` hashes. This grammar describes this as best possible:
+by `N` hashes. Critically, once inside the first pair of quotes,
+another quote cannot be followed by `N` consecutive hashes. e.g.
+`r###""###"###` is invalid.
+
+This grammar describes this as best possible:
 
     R -> 'r' S
     S -> '"' B '"'
@@ -22,8 +26,39 @@ accepted as one by the above grammar, using the derivation:
 (Where `T : U` means the rule `T` is applied, and `U` is the remainder of the
 string.) The difficulty arises from the fact that it is fundamentally
 context-sensitive. In particular, the context needed is the number of hashes.
-I know of no way to resolve this, but also have not come up with a proof that
-it is not context sensitive. Such a proof would probably use the pumping lemma
-for context-free languages, but I (cmr) could not come up with a proof after
-spending a few hours on it, and decided my time best spent elsewhere. Pull
-request welcome!
+
+To prove that Rust's string literals are not context-free, we will use
+the fact that context-free languages are closed under intersection with
+regular languages, and the
+[pumping lemma for context-free languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumping_lemma_for_context-free_languages).
+
+Consider the regular language `R = r#+""#*"#+`. If Rust's raw string literals are
+context-free, then their intersection with `R`, `R'`, should also be context-free.
+Therefore, to prove that raw string literals are not context-free,
+it is sufficient to prove that `R'` is not context-free.
+
+The language `R'` is `{r#^n""#^m"#^n | m < n}`.
+
+Assume `R'` *is* context-free. Then `R'` has some pumping length `p > 0` for which
+the pumping lemma applies. Consider the following string `s` in `R'`:
+
+`r#^p""#^{p-1}"#^p`
+
+e.g. for `p = 2`: `s = r##""#"##`
+
+Then `s = uvwxy` for some choice of `uvwxy` such that `vx` is non-empty,
+`|vwx| < p+1`, and `uv^iwx^iy` is in `R'` for all `i >= 0`.
+
+Neither `v` nor `x` can contain a `"` or `r`, as the number of these characters
+in any string in `R'` is fixed. So `v` and `x` contain only hashes.
+Consequently, of the three sequences of hashes, `v` and `x` combined
+can only pump two of them.
+If we ever choose the central sequence of hashes, then one of the outer sequences
+will not grow when we pump, leading to an imbalance between the outer sequences.
+Therefore, we must pump both outer sequences of hashes. However,
+there are `p+2` characters between these two sequences of hashes, and `|vwx|` must
+be less than `p+1`. Therefore we have a contradiction, and `R'` must not be
+context-free.
+
+Since `R'` is not context-free, it follows that the Rust's raw string literals
+must not be context-free.