vibed/edu/.beans/archive/edu-mmbr--8-parsing-atoms-with-nom.md

---
# edu-mmbr
title: §8 Parsing Atoms with nom
status: completed
type: task
priority: normal
created_at: 2026-03-10T23:30:02Z
updated_at: 2026-03-10T23:30:02Z
---

## §8 Parsing Atoms with nom — Stub to fill

File: `edu/src/lisp-compiler.md`, section `### 8. Parsing Atoms with nom`

Replace the stub line with full content. Target 600–800 words. This section takes the individual atom parsers from §6 and the AST from §7 and combines them into a single `parse_atom` function that returns `IResult<&str, Expr>`. Includes tests.

## Learning objectives

- Combine individual atom parsers into a single `alt` using `map` to produce `Expr` values
- Understand how to add `src/parser.rs` to the project properly
- Write comprehensive unit tests for atom parsing
- Handle the ordering constraint in `alt`: integers before symbols

## Content to write

### The `parse_atom` function

In `src/parser.rs`, import the atom parsers from §6 and the `Expr` type from `src/ast.rs`, then combine them:

```rust
use nom::{IResult, branch::alt, combinator::map};
use crate::ast::Expr;

/// Parse any MiniLisp atom: integer, boolean, string, or symbol.
pub fn parse_atom(input: &str) -> IResult<&str, Expr> {
    alt((
        map(parse_integer, Expr::Int),
        map(parse_bool,    Expr::Bool),
        map(parse_string,  Expr::Str),
        map(parse_symbol,  |s: &str| Expr::Symbol(s.to_string())),
    ))(input)
}
```

Explain the ordering:
1. **Integer before symbol**: `-7` must match as integer, not as a symbol starting with `-`. Because `parse_integer` consumes the full `-7` before `parse_symbol` is tried, the ordering ensures correct behavior.
2. **Boolean before symbol**: `#t` and `#f` are not valid symbols (since `#` is not a symbol-start character), so ordering here does not matter — but it is cleaner to try booleans first.
3. **String last among atoms**: no overlap with the others since strings start with `"`.

### Module organisation

Show the complete `src/parser.rs` header at this point:

```rust
//! Parser for MiniLisp source code.
//!
//! Entry point: [`parse`] which accepts a `&str` and returns `Vec<Expr>`.

use nom::{
    IResult,
    branch::alt,
    bytes::complete::{escaped_transform, is_not, tag, take_while, take_while_m_n},
    character::complete::{char, digit1, multispace0, line_ending},
    combinator::{map, map_res, opt, recognize, value},
    sequence::{delimited, pair},
};

use crate::ast::Expr;
```

### Whitespace-aware atom parser

Wrap `parse_atom` in the `ws` combinator so callers do not have to think about surrounding whitespace:

```rust
pub fn parse_atom_ws(input: &str) -> IResult<&str, Expr> {
    ws(parse_atom)(input)
}
```

### Unit tests

Write a `#[cfg(test)]` module in `src/parser.rs` testing every atom type with multiple cases:

```rust
#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;
    use crate::ast::Expr;

    #[test]
    fn test_integer_atom() {
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("42"), Ok(("", Expr::Int(42))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("-7 "), Ok((" ", Expr::Int(-7))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("0"), Ok(("", Expr::Int(0))));
    }

    #[test]
    fn test_bool_atom() {
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("#t"), Ok(("", Expr::Bool(true))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("#f"), Ok(("", Expr::Bool(false))));
    }

    #[test]
    fn test_string_atom() {
        assert_eq!(parse_atom(r#""hello""#), Ok(("", Expr::Str("hello".into()))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom(r#""a\nb""#), Ok(("", Expr::Str("a\nb".into()))));
    }

    #[test]
    fn test_symbol_atom() {
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("my-var"), Ok(("", Expr::Symbol("my-var".into()))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("+"), Ok(("", Expr::Symbol("+".into()))));
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("factorial rest"), Ok((" rest", Expr::Symbol("factorial".into()))));
    }

    #[test]
    fn test_negative_integer_vs_symbol() {
        // -7 must be an integer, not a symbol
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("-7"), Ok(("", Expr::Int(-7))));
        // lone - is a symbol
        assert_eq!(parse_atom("- "), Ok((" ", Expr::Symbol("-".into()))));
    }
}
```

### Run the tests

```sh
cargo test parser
```

All tests should pass before proceeding to §9.

## Style notes

- The ordering section is the most important teaching moment here — make it explicit
- Show how `map` is used to lift a primitive value into an `Expr` variant
- The test for `-7` vs `-` (lone minus) is critical — flag it as something to get right