Abstract Using a table‐driven top‐down syntactical analyser due to Wirth as starting point, we develop a table‐driven non‐recursive parser. We proceed then to make considerations about error recovery and how to generate non‐recursive executable code for the parser. The problem of linkage with ‘semantic’ routines, that is, those that treat context conditions and generate object code is also covered. An example based on a simple grammar is used throughout the paper in a didactical fashion.