⚙️ System Overview

The CodeSage system is designed as a hybrid framework that integrates compiler design principles, tree-walk interpretation, and AI-based natural language processing to analyze and explain source code. It processes code through multiple well-defined stages — from tokenization to AST generation, interpretation, and intelligent summarization — before displaying all results in an interactive IDE.

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Major Components and Workflow

Source Code Input

The process begins when the user writes or loads code in the Tkinter IDE. This input is passed to the Scanner for lexical analysis. The IDE acts as both the user interface and the visualization platform for outputs such as execution results, AST diagrams, and summaries.

Scanner / Lexer

The Scanner (or Lexer) reads the raw source code character by character and converts it into a stream of tokens. Each token represents a meaningful symbol like a keyword (if, while), operator (+, -), identifier, or literal.

Parser

The Parser applies a recursive descent parsing algorithm to convert tokens into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST). This tree represents the syntactic structure of the code, where each node corresponds to a programming construct (like a variable declaration, function call, or binary operation).

Abstract Syntax Tree (AST)

The AST is the central data structure in CodeSage. It represents code as a hierarchical tree of expressions and statements, abstracting away unnecessary syntax details (like parentheses or semicolons).

Example (conceptually):

print(3 + 5 * 2)
      ↓
PrintStmt
 └── BinaryExpr(+)
       ├── Literal(3)
       └── BinaryExpr(*)
             ├── Literal(5)
             └── Literal(2)

The AST serves as the foundation for execution, summarization, and semantic resolution.

Resolver

Before interpretation, the Resolver walks the AST to perform scope resolution and semantic checks.

Interpreter (Tree-Walk Execution)

The Interpreter directly executes the AST using a Tree-Walk approach — recursively evaluating expressions and executing statements.

AST Summarizer

The AST Summarizer traverses the AST nodes to generate structured summaries that describe code behavior in plain language. It recognizes constructs like conditionals, loops, and assignments and expresses their intent textually.

Example:

Code: while (x < 5) { x = x + 1; }
Summary: Repeats execution while x is less than 5, incrementing x by 1 each time.

Output: Structural summary → passed to the NLP Engine.

NLP + LLM Engine

This component refines the summarizer’s output using Natural Language Processing. It combines rule-based templates with a language model (like GPT or T5) to produce fluent, context-aware explanations.

Tkinter IDE

The Graphical User Interface serves as the central hub where all outputs come together.