Berkeley yacc is a computer program that helps other computer programs understand written commands. Imagine you have a robot that you want to tell to pick up a toy from the floor. You need to give the robot specific instructions in a way it can understand, and that's where Berkeley yacc comes in. It helps you turn your instructions into a language the robot can understand so it can pick up the toy. Similarly, when people write computer programs, they want them to understand the instructions they provide. Berkeley yacc helps programmers create the language the computer program needs to understand, so the program can do what it is supposed to do. It's like a very smart translator that helps people and computers communicate with each other.