(flex.info)Serialized Tables

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22 Serialized Tables
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A 'flex' scanner has the ability to save the DFA tables to a file, and
load them at runtime when needed.  The motivation for this feature is to
reduce the runtime memory footprint.  Traditionally, these tables have
been compiled into the scanner as C arrays, and are sometimes quite
large.  Since the tables are compiled into the scanner, the memory used
by the tables can never be freed.  This is a waste of memory, especially
if an application uses several scanners, but none of them at the same
time.

   The serialization feature allows the tables to be loaded at runtime,
before scanning begins.  The tables may be discarded when scanning is
finished.

Creating Serialized Tables

Loading and Unloading Serialized Tables

Tables File Format