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+.. _INT:Frontend:
+
+Front-end
+#########
+
+Input files (or source files) are read by `files_map.ad[sb]`.  Only regular files can be read, because they are read entirely before being scanned.  This simplifies the scanner, but this also allows to have a unique index for each character in any file.  Therefore the source location is a simple 32-bit integer whose type is `Location_Type`.  From the location, `files_map` can deduce the source file (type is `Source_File_Entry`) and then the offset in the source file.  There is a line table for each source file in order to speed-up the conversion from file offset to line number and column number.
+
+The scanner (file :file:`vhdl-scanner.ad[sb]`) reads the source files and creates token
+from them.  The tokens are defined in file :file:`vhdl-tokens.ads`.  Tokens are scanned
+one by one, so the scanner doesn't keep in memory the previous token.  Integer or
+floating point numbers are special tokens because beside the token itself there is
+also a variable for the value of the number.
+
+For identifiers there is a table containing all identifiers.  This is implemented by
+file :file:`name_table.ad[sb]`.  Each identifier is associated to a 32-bit number
+(they are internalized).  So the number is used to reference an identifier.  About
+one thousand identifiers are predefined (by :file:`std_names.ad[sb]`).  Most of
+them are reserved identifiers (or keywords).  When the scanner find an identifier, it
+checks if it is a keyword.  In that case it changes the token to the keyword token.
+
+The procedure `scan` is called to get the next token.  The location of the token and
+the location after the token are available to store it in the parser tree.
+
+The main clieant of the scanner is the parser.