bison - Flex lexer start condition not being recognized -

i have scanner maintains 2 exclusive states (word , defn)

%option noyywrap %s word %s defn %%  %{     begin(word); %}  <word>{ "|"          { begin(defn); return ws_pipe; } }  <defn>{ [^;]+        { printf("ds: %s\n", yytext); return wd_string; } ";"          { return wd_semicolon; } }  \n|.         { printf("u: %s\n", yytext); }  %% 

but simple input "| text;", when pipe parsed state not being changed, parsing of "some text;" fails.

the state being changed defn when | encountered in state word. however, next time yylex called (to token following pipe), state reset word block

%{     begin(word); %} 

from flex manual (emphasis added):

in rules section, indented or %{ %} enclosed text appearing before first rule may used declare variables local scanning routine , (after declarations) code executed whenever scanning routine entered.

you're better off using initial start condition represent the, well, initial start condition.