Structure | An AST is composed of symbols, such as operators, identifiers, and keywords. These symbols are organized in a tree structure. | A parse tree is composed of tokens, such as terminal and non-terminal symbols. These tokens are organized in a tree structure. |
Representation | An AST is represented using a standard tree structure, with each node representing a particular symbol or rule. | A parse tree is represented using a graph structure, with each node representing a particular token or rule. |
Generation | An AST is generated by the compiler from the source code. | A parse tree is generated by the parser from the source code. |
Usage | An AST is used to analyze the source code and optimize it for compilation. | A parse tree is used to check the syntactic correctness of the source code. |
Expressiveness | An AST is more expressive than a parse tree, as it provides more information about the source code. | A parse tree is less expressive than an AST, as it only provides basic information about the source code. |
Efficiency | An AST is more efficient than a parse tree, as it requires fewer operations to generate. | A parse tree is less efficient than an AST, as it requires more operations to generate. |
Size | An AST is smaller than a parse tree, as it contains fewer symbols. | A parse tree is larger than an AST, as it contains more tokens. |
Complexity | An AST is simpler than a parse tree, as it is generated from fewer operations. | A parse tree is more complex than an AST, as it is generated from more operations. |
Comprehension | An AST is easier to comprehend than a parse tree, as it contains more information about the source code. | A parse tree is harder to comprehend than an AST, as it contains less information about the source code. |