diff --git a/src/go/build/deps_test.go b/src/go/build/deps_test.go
index 141fdb9fbd8584339664f5ee50a55116a72ac5aa..c7e22463f90046d99899917700dd3e904ce4f7c9 100644
--- a/src/go/build/deps_test.go
+++ b/src/go/build/deps_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"go/token"
+	"internal/dag"
 	"internal/testenv"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
@@ -29,40 +30,9 @@ import (
 // without prior discussion.
 // Negative assertions should almost never be removed.
 //
-// The general syntax of a rule is:
+// "a < b" means package b can import package a.
 //
-//	a, b < c, d;
-//
-// which means c and d come after a and b in the partial order
-// (that is, c and d can import a and b),
-// but doesn't provide a relative order between a vs b or c vs d.
-//
-// The rules can chain together, as in:
-//
-//	e < f, g < h;
-//
-// which is equivalent to
-//
-//	e < f, g;
-//	f, g < h;
-//
-// Except for the special bottom element "NONE", each name
-// must appear exactly once on the right-hand side of a rule.
-// That rule serves as the definition of the allowed dependencies
-// for that name. The definition must appear before any uses
-// of the name on the left-hand side of a rule. (That is, the
-// rules themselves must be ordered according to the partial
-// order, for easier reading by people.)
-//
-// Negative assertions double-check the partial order:
-//
-//	i !< j
-//
-// means that it must NOT be the case that i < j.
-// Negative assertions may appear anywhere in the rules,
-// even before i and j have been defined.
-//
-// Comments begin with #.
+// See `go doc internal/dag' for the full syntax.
 //
 // All-caps names are pseudo-names for specific points
 // in the dependency lattice.
@@ -208,6 +178,7 @@ var depsRules = `
 	# Misc packages needing only FMT.
 	FMT
 	< html,
+	  internal/dag,
 	  internal/goroot,
 	  mime/quotedprintable,
 	  net/internal/socktest,
@@ -700,186 +671,11 @@ func findImports(pkg string) ([]string, error) {
 
 // depsPolicy returns a map m such that m[p][d] == true when p can import d.
 func depsPolicy(t *testing.T) map[string]map[string]bool {
-	allowed := map[string]map[string]bool{"NONE": {}}
-	disallowed := [][2][]string{}
-
-	parseDepsRules(t, func(deps []string, op string, users []string) {
-		if op == "!<" {
-			disallowed = append(disallowed, [2][]string{deps, users})
-			return
-		}
-		for _, u := range users {
-			if allowed[u] != nil {
-				t.Errorf("multiple deps lists for %s", u)
-			}
-			allowed[u] = make(map[string]bool)
-			for _, d := range deps {
-				if allowed[d] == nil {
-					t.Errorf("use of %s before its deps list", d)
-				}
-				allowed[u][d] = true
-			}
-		}
-	})
-
-	// Check for missing deps info.
-	for _, deps := range allowed {
-		for d := range deps {
-			if allowed[d] == nil {
-				t.Errorf("missing deps list for %s", d)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	// Complete transitive allowed deps.
-	for k := range allowed {
-		for i := range allowed {
-			for j := range allowed {
-				if i != k && k != j && allowed[i][k] && allowed[k][j] {
-					if i == j {
-						// Can only happen along with a "use of X before deps" error above,
-						// but this error is more specific - it makes clear that reordering the
-						// rules will not be enough to fix the problem.
-						t.Errorf("deps policy cycle: %s < %s < %s", j, k, i)
-					}
-					allowed[i][j] = true
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	// Check negative assertions against completed allowed deps.
-	for _, bad := range disallowed {
-		deps, users := bad[0], bad[1]
-		for _, d := range deps {
-			for _, u := range users {
-				if allowed[u][d] {
-					t.Errorf("deps policy incorrect: assertion failed: %s !< %s", d, u)
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	if t.Failed() {
-		t.FailNow()
-	}
-
-	return allowed
-}
-
-// parseDepsRules parses depsRules, calling save(deps, op, users)
-// for each deps < users or deps !< users rule
-// (op is "<" or "!<").
-func parseDepsRules(t *testing.T, save func(deps []string, op string, users []string)) {
-	p := &depsParser{t: t, lineno: 1, text: depsRules}
-
-	var prev []string
-	var op string
-	for {
-		list, tok := p.nextList()
-		if tok == "" {
-			if prev == nil {
-				break
-			}
-			p.syntaxError("unexpected EOF")
-		}
-		if prev != nil {
-			save(prev, op, list)
-		}
-		prev = list
-		if tok == ";" {
-			prev = nil
-			op = ""
-			continue
-		}
-		if tok != "<" && tok != "!<" {
-			p.syntaxError("missing <")
-		}
-		op = tok
-	}
-}
-
-// A depsParser parses the depsRules syntax described above.
-type depsParser struct {
-	t        *testing.T
-	lineno   int
-	lastWord string
-	text     string
-}
-
-// syntaxError reports a parsing error.
-func (p *depsParser) syntaxError(msg string) {
-	p.t.Fatalf("deps:%d: syntax error: %s near %s", p.lineno, msg, p.lastWord)
-}
-
-// nextList parses and returns a comma-separated list of names.
-func (p *depsParser) nextList() (list []string, token string) {
-	for {
-		tok := p.nextToken()
-		switch tok {
-		case "":
-			if len(list) == 0 {
-				return nil, ""
-			}
-			fallthrough
-		case ",", "<", "!<", ";":
-			p.syntaxError("bad list syntax")
-		}
-		list = append(list, tok)
-
-		tok = p.nextToken()
-		if tok != "," {
-			return list, tok
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// nextToken returns the next token in the deps rules,
-// one of ";" "," "<" "!<" or a name.
-func (p *depsParser) nextToken() string {
-	for {
-		if p.text == "" {
-			return ""
-		}
-		switch p.text[0] {
-		case ';', ',', '<':
-			t := p.text[:1]
-			p.text = p.text[1:]
-			return t
-
-		case '!':
-			if len(p.text) < 2 || p.text[1] != '<' {
-				p.syntaxError("unexpected token !")
-			}
-			p.text = p.text[2:]
-			return "!<"
-
-		case '#':
-			i := strings.Index(p.text, "\n")
-			if i < 0 {
-				i = len(p.text)
-			}
-			p.text = p.text[i:]
-			continue
-
-		case '\n':
-			p.lineno++
-			fallthrough
-		case ' ', '\t':
-			p.text = p.text[1:]
-			continue
-
-		default:
-			i := strings.IndexAny(p.text, "!;,<#\n \t")
-			if i < 0 {
-				i = len(p.text)
-			}
-			t := p.text[:i]
-			p.text = p.text[i:]
-			p.lastWord = t
-			return t
-		}
+	g, err := dag.Parse(depsRules)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	return g
 }
 
 // TestStdlibLowercase tests that all standard library package names are
diff --git a/src/internal/dag/parse.go b/src/internal/dag/parse.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..640b535454e943d97ac552dd629499a085759b0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/internal/dag/parse.go
@@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
+// Copyright 2022 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+// Package dag implements a language for expressing directed acyclic
+// graphs.
+//
+// The general syntax of a rule is:
+//
+//	a, b < c, d;
+//
+// which means c and d come after a and b in the partial order
+// (that is, there are edges from c and d to a and b),
+// but doesn't provide a relative order between a vs b or c vs d.
+//
+// The rules can chain together, as in:
+//
+//	e < f, g < h;
+//
+// which is equivalent to
+//
+//	e < f, g;
+//	f, g < h;
+//
+// Except for the special bottom element "NONE", each name
+// must appear exactly once on the right-hand side of any rule.
+// That rule serves as the definition of the allowed successor
+// for that name. The definition must appear before any uses
+// of the name on the left-hand side of a rule. (That is, the
+// rules themselves must be ordered according to the partial
+// order, for easier reading by people.)
+//
+// Negative assertions double-check the partial order:
+//
+//	i !< j
+//
+// means that it must NOT be the case that i < j.
+// Negative assertions may appear anywhere in the rules,
+// even before i and j have been defined.
+//
+// Comments begin with #.
+package dag
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// Parse returns a map m such that m[p][d] == true when there is a
+// path from p to d.
+func Parse(dag string) (map[string]map[string]bool, error) {
+	allowed := map[string]map[string]bool{"NONE": {}}
+	disallowed := []rule{}
+
+	rules, err := parseRules(dag)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// TODO: Add line numbers to errors.
+	var errors []string
+	errorf := func(format string, a ...any) {
+		errors = append(errors, fmt.Sprintf(format, a...))
+	}
+	for _, r := range rules {
+		if r.op == "!<" {
+			disallowed = append(disallowed, r)
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, def := range r.def {
+			if allowed[def] != nil {
+				errorf("multiple definitions for %s", def)
+			}
+			allowed[def] = make(map[string]bool)
+			for _, less := range r.less {
+				if allowed[less] == nil {
+					errorf("use of %s before its definition", less)
+				}
+				allowed[def][less] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check for missing definition.
+	for _, tos := range allowed {
+		for to := range tos {
+			if allowed[to] == nil {
+				errorf("missing definition for %s", to)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Complete transitive closure.
+	for k := range allowed {
+		for i := range allowed {
+			for j := range allowed {
+				if i != k && k != j && allowed[i][k] && allowed[k][j] {
+					if i == j {
+						// Can only happen along with a "use of X before deps" error above,
+						// but this error is more specific - it makes clear that reordering the
+						// rules will not be enough to fix the problem.
+						errorf("graph cycle: %s < %s < %s", j, k, i)
+					}
+					allowed[i][j] = true
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check negative assertions against completed allowed graph.
+	for _, bad := range disallowed {
+		for _, less := range bad.less {
+			for _, def := range bad.def {
+				if allowed[def][less] {
+					errorf("graph edge assertion failed: %s !< %s", less, def)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(errors) > 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s", strings.Join(errors, "\n"))
+	}
+
+	return allowed, nil
+}
+
+// A rule is a line in the DAG language where "less < def" or "less !< def".
+type rule struct {
+	less []string
+	op   string // Either "<" or "!<"
+	def  []string
+}
+
+type syntaxError string
+
+func (e syntaxError) Error() string {
+	return string(e)
+}
+
+// parseRules parses the rules of a DAG.
+func parseRules(rules string) (out []rule, err error) {
+	defer func() {
+		e := recover()
+		switch e := e.(type) {
+		case nil:
+			return
+		case syntaxError:
+			err = e
+		default:
+			panic(e)
+		}
+	}()
+	p := &rulesParser{lineno: 1, text: rules}
+
+	var prev []string
+	var op string
+	for {
+		list, tok := p.nextList()
+		if tok == "" {
+			if prev == nil {
+				break
+			}
+			p.syntaxError("unexpected EOF")
+		}
+		if prev != nil {
+			out = append(out, rule{prev, op, list})
+		}
+		prev = list
+		if tok == ";" {
+			prev = nil
+			op = ""
+			continue
+		}
+		if tok != "<" && tok != "!<" {
+			p.syntaxError("missing <")
+		}
+		op = tok
+	}
+
+	return out, err
+}
+
+// A rulesParser parses the depsRules syntax described above.
+type rulesParser struct {
+	lineno   int
+	lastWord string
+	text     string
+}
+
+// syntaxError reports a parsing error.
+func (p *rulesParser) syntaxError(msg string) {
+	panic(syntaxError(fmt.Sprintf("parsing graph: line %d: syntax error: %s near %s", p.lineno, msg, p.lastWord)))
+}
+
+// nextList parses and returns a comma-separated list of names.
+func (p *rulesParser) nextList() (list []string, token string) {
+	for {
+		tok := p.nextToken()
+		switch tok {
+		case "":
+			if len(list) == 0 {
+				return nil, ""
+			}
+			fallthrough
+		case ",", "<", "!<", ";":
+			p.syntaxError("bad list syntax")
+		}
+		list = append(list, tok)
+
+		tok = p.nextToken()
+		if tok != "," {
+			return list, tok
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// nextToken returns the next token in the deps rules,
+// one of ";" "," "<" "!<" or a name.
+func (p *rulesParser) nextToken() string {
+	for {
+		if p.text == "" {
+			return ""
+		}
+		switch p.text[0] {
+		case ';', ',', '<':
+			t := p.text[:1]
+			p.text = p.text[1:]
+			return t
+
+		case '!':
+			if len(p.text) < 2 || p.text[1] != '<' {
+				p.syntaxError("unexpected token !")
+			}
+			p.text = p.text[2:]
+			return "!<"
+
+		case '#':
+			i := strings.Index(p.text, "\n")
+			if i < 0 {
+				i = len(p.text)
+			}
+			p.text = p.text[i:]
+			continue
+
+		case '\n':
+			p.lineno++
+			fallthrough
+		case ' ', '\t':
+			p.text = p.text[1:]
+			continue
+
+		default:
+			i := strings.IndexAny(p.text, "!;,<#\n \t")
+			if i < 0 {
+				i = len(p.text)
+			}
+			t := p.text[:i]
+			p.text = p.text[i:]
+			p.lastWord = t
+			return t
+		}
+	}
+}