Programming languages have specifications that provide a formal manner of defining how a given language works. According to Ray Toal language specifications usually consist of three parts: Syntax (structure), Semantics (meaning), and Pragmatics (usage).
Syntax Defined
- Jeremy Robertson’s “What is Syntax in Computer Programming?“
- Trevor Page’s Syntax.
- Computer Hope Dictionary: Syntax.
- Techopedia: Syntax.
- Wikipedia: Syntax.
Lexical Categories
- TBD
Phrase Categories
- TBD
Parse
- TBD
Operator Precedence
- TBD
Associativity
- TBD
Abstract Syntax / Abstract Syntax Tree (AST)
- TBD
Static Semantics
- TBD
Dynamic Semantics
- TBD
Actual Language Specifications
- The Go Programming Language Specification
- F# Language Specification
- C# Language Specification
- C Language Specification (PDF)
- Standard for Programming Language C++ (PDF)
- The Python Language Reference
- Visual Basic Language Specification
- ECMAScript 2019 Language Specification
- PHP Language Reference
- Pascal ISO 7185:1990 (PDF)
- The Programming Language Oberon (PDF)
- The Swift Programming Language Reference
Further Resources
- Ray Toal’s Programming Language Specification article is helpful and fairly concise.