G. E. Kaiser
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Abstract
Attribute grammars are a formal notation for expressing the static semantics of programming languages—those properties that can be derived from inspection of the program text. Attribute grammars have become popular as a mechanism for generating language-based programming environments that incrementally perform symbol resolution, type checking, code generation, and derivation of other static semantic properties as the program is modified. However, attribute grammars are not suitable for expressing dynamic semantics—those properties that reflect the history of program execution and/or user interactions with the programming environment. This paper presents action equations, an extension of attribute grammars suitable for specifying the static and the dynamic semantics of programming languages. It describes how action equations can be used to generate language-based programming environments that incrementally derive static and dynamic properties as the user modifies and debugs th e program.
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Index Terms
- Incremental dynamic semantics for language-based programming environments
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Carlo Ghezzi
This paper addresses the processing performed by language-based programming environments. In particular, it shows how attribute grammars may be used to express dynamic semantics (i.e., those properties that reflect the history of the program and user interactions with the environment). This point is quite interesting, because attribute grammars have been used in the past only to model static semantics. In order to express dynamic semantics, the author introduces the concept of action equations and shows how to use them in the generation of an environment. The paper is well written, and all those interested in language-based programming environments should read it.
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