Defined in header <cparse/Parser.hh>

protected:
void exit( int status );

Throws a private Exited exception that is caught inside parse() Phase 5. Signals that the grammar has reached an unrecoverable state — parsing cannot continue in a way that would produce meaningful diagnostics.

Always call recordError() first to record what went wrong; exit() itself does not add any diagnostic.

Parameters

Parameter	Description
status	An integer status code stored in the Exited exception. Currently unused by parse() — the mere fact that the exception was thrown is what matters. Reserved for future extension.

Return value

Does not return. Throws unconditionally.

Exceptions

Throws a private Parser::Exited exception. Not any standard exception type — callers cannot catch it externally. parse() catches it in Phase 5 and translates it to a false return with the return-point stack cleared.

Notes

The distinction between "return false from start()" and "call exit() from within a helper" is subtle and worth internalising:

• Return false from start() — clean control flow. parse() appends an Internal-kind "unexpected file parsing result" diagnostic on top of whatever the grammar itself recorded.
• Call exit() — bypasses whatever call stack was in progress. No automatic "unexpected file parsing result" diagnostic is appended. Use when the grammar has recorded a precise diagnostic and does not want boilerplate on top.

Because exit() unwinds the stack via C++ exception, any RAII guards, std::lock_guards, or destructors between the call site and parse() will run. If your grammar owns resources across the call, this is the correct behaviour; if you accidentally hold a lock that must not be released mid-parse, exit() is the wrong mechanism — return false from start() after unwinding manually.

Example

bool parseHeader()
{
    if (!extractToken("VERSION"))
    {
        recordError(ParseError::Kind::Faulty,
                    "file lacks required VERSION header — cannot proceed");
        exit(1);   // unrecoverable — no other section makes sense without version
    }
    // ... read version number ...
    return true;
}

See also

• Parser::parse — catches the Exited exception in Phase 5.
• Parser::recordError — call before exit().
• Parser::start — compares the two failure paths.