Behind the Scenes: Parsing Stage in V8 Engine

When JavaScript code is executed, it goes through several stages in the V8 engine. The first stage is parsing, which includes lexical analysis and tokenization. Here’s how it works:

A) Parsing Stage: Lexical Analysis and Tokenization

1. Lexical Analysis

• Purpose: The main goal of lexical analysis is to break down the raw JavaScript code into manageable pieces called tokens.
• Process:
  1. Input Code: var a = 10;
  2. Tokenization: The code is scanned to identify individual tokens.

Example:

For the code var a = 10;, the tokens might be:

• var (keyword)
• a (identifier)
• = (operator)
• 10 (literal)
• ; (punctuation)

2. What is Tokenization?

• Definition: Tokenization is the process of converting code into a series of tokens. Each token represents a fundamental element of the language, such as keywords, operators, identifiers, and literals.
• Why Tokenization?: Tokenization helps the V8 engine to read and understand the code more effectively by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. This step is crucial for further analysis and compilation.