Slide 1.6: Programming language semantics Slide 1.8: Programming paradigms Home

Programming Language Semantics (Cont.)

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• Axiomatic semantics, which are an approach based on mathematical logic to proving the correctness of computer programs.
  
  
  An Axiomatic Basis for Computer Programming, C. A. R. Hoare, 1969.


• Denotational semantics, which are a technique of describing the “meaning” of programs as mathematical functions, allowing people to prove theorems and reason about programs as mathematical entities.
  
  
  The Denotational Semantics of Programming Languages, R. D. Tennent, 1976.


• Fixed-point semantics, which use fixpoint theory to define the semantics of computer programs in terms of the least fixpoints of recursive programs.
  
  
  Fixpoint Approach to the Theory of Computation, Zohar Manna and Jean Vuillemin, 1972.


• Operational semantics, which describe how a valid program is interpreted as sequences of computational steps. These sequences then are the meaning of the program.
  
  
  A Structural Approach to Operational Semantics, Gordon Plotkin, 1981


• Translational semantics, which define a language by using an attribute grammar, which is a formal way to define attributes for the productions of a formal grammar, associating these attributes to values.
  
  
  Attribute Grammar Paradigms—A High-Level Methodology in Language Implementation, Jukka Paakki, 1995.