ABSTRACT SYNTAX
\ˈabstɹakt sˈɪntaks], \ˈabstɹakt sˈɪntaks], \ˈa_b_s_t_ɹ_a_k_t s_ˈɪ_n_t_a_k_s]\
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A form of representation of data that isindependent of machine-oriented structures and encodings andalso of the physical representation of the data. Abstractsyntax is used to give a high-level description of programsbeing compiled or messages passing over a communications link.A compiler's internal representation of a program willtypically be an abstract syntax tree. The abstract syntaxspecifies the tree's structure is specified in terms ofcategories such as "statement", "expression" and"identifier". This is independent of the source syntax(concrete syntax) of the language being compiled (though itwill often be very similar).A parse tree is similar to an abstract syntax tree but itwill typically also contain features such as parentheses whichare syntactically significant but which are implicit in thestructure of the abstract syntax tree.
By Denis Howe
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SQ10,643
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