A ':' that opens a line with no key before it is a mapping entry with a
null key (': value', a bare ':', or a null-keyed entry among others). The
scanner emitted the ':' with no preceding key, so the parser rejected it
as a missing node.
The scanner now synthesizes the empty key and its node for such a ':'. To
avoid mistaking an explicit key's value indicator for a null key, it tracks
a pending block-level '?' key: a ':' opening a line is that key's value
when one is pending, and only a synthesized null key otherwise. The flag
is set and cleared only at flow depth zero, so a ':' inside a flow complex
key ('? {a: b}' then ': c') does not disturb the pending block key.
Measured against the official YAML test-suite, parse-level conformance
rises from 283/333 (85.0%) to 287/333 (86.2%) with no regression.
Mihaela M
4941eac711