In computing, a programming language specification is an artifact that defines a programming language so that users and implementors can agree on what programs in that language mean.
A programming language specification can take several forms, including the following:
- An explicit definition of the syntax and semantics of the language. While syntax is commonly specified using a formal grammar, semantic definitions may be written in natural language (e.g., the approach taken for the C language), or a formal semantics (e.g., the Standard MLand Scheme specifications).
- A description of the behavior of a translator for the language (e.g., the C++ and Fortran). The syntax and semantics of the language has to be inferred from this description, which may be written in natural or a formal language.
- A model implementation, sometimes written in the language being specified (e.g., the Prolog). The syntax and semantics of the language are explicit in the behavior of the model implementation.
Read more about Programming Language Specification: Syntax, Semantics, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words programming and/or language:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Man, even man debased by the neocapitalism and pseudosocialism of our time, is a marvelous being because he sometimes speaks. Language is the mark, the sign, not of his fall but of his original innocence. Through the Word we may regain the lost kingdom and recover powers we possessed in the far-distant past.”
—Octavio Paz (b. 1914)