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Syntax Wikipedia

The document discusses the syntax of computer languages. Syntax refers to the form and structure of code based on combinations of symbols and sequences. It defines the surface level rules for what constitutes a correctly structured statement or expression in a language. Syntax analysis involves breaking code down into lexical tokens, parsing those tokens into phrases based on grammar rules, and performing contextual analysis to resolve names and check types.

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41 views

Syntax Wikipedia

The document discusses the syntax of computer languages. Syntax refers to the form and structure of code based on combinations of symbols and sequences. It defines the surface level rules for what constitutes a correctly structured statement or expression in a language. Syntax analysis involves breaking code down into lexical tokens, parsing those tokens into phrases based on grammar rules, and performing contextual analysis to resolve names and check types.

Uploaded by

kevin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In computer science, the syntax of a computer language is the set of rules that defines the

combinations of symbols that are considered to be correctly structured statements or expressions in


that language. This applies both to programming languages, where the document represents source
code, and to markup languages, where the document represents data.

The syntax of a language defines its surface form.[1] Text-based computer languages are based on
sequences of characters, while visual programming languages are based on the spatial layout and
connections between symbols (which may be textual or graphical). Documents that are syntactically
invalid are said to have a syntax error. When designing the syntax of a language, a designer might
start by writing down examples of both legal and illegal strings, before trying to figure out the
general rules from these examples.[2]

Syntax therefore refers to the form of the code, and is contrasted with semantics – the meaning. In
processing computer languages, semantic processing generally comes after syntactic processing;
however, in some cases, semantic processing is necessary for complete syntactic analysis, and these
are done together or concurrently. In a compiler, the syntactic analysis comprises the frontend,
while the semantic analysis comprises the backend (and middle end, if this phase is distinguished).

Contents

1 Levels of syntax

1.1 Examples of errors

2 Syntax definition

2.1 Example: Lisp S-expressions

2.2 Complex grammars

3 Syntax versus semantics

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Levels of syntax

Computer language syntax is generally distinguished into three levels:

Words – the lexical level, determining how characters form tokens;

Phrases – the grammar level, narrowly speaking, determining how tokens form phrases;

Context – determining what objects or variables names refer to, if types are valid, etc.
Distinguishing in this way yields modularity, allowing each level to be described and processed
separately and often independently. First, a lexer turns the linear sequence of characters into a
linear sequence of tokens; this is known as "lexical analysis" or "lexing". Second, the parser turns the
linear sequence of tokens into a hierarchical syntax tree; this is known as "parsing" narrowly
speaking. Thirdly, the contextual analysis resolves names and checks types. This modularity is
sometimes possible, but in many real-world languages an earlier step depends on a later step – for
example, the lexer hack in C is because tokenization depends on context. Even in these cases,
syntactical analysis is often seen as approximating this ideal model.

The parsing stage itself can be divided into two parts: the parse tree, or "concrete syntax tree",
which is determined by the grammar, but is generally far too detailed for practical use, and the
abstract syntax tree (AST), which simplifies this into a usable form. The AST and contextual analysis
steps can be considered a form of semantic analysis, as they are adding meaning and interpretation
to the syntax, or alternatively as informal, manual implementations of syntactical rules that would
be difficult or awkward to describe or implement formally.

The levels generally correspond to levels in the Chomsky hierarchy.

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