Concept
Backus–Naur form
Overview
In computer science, Backus–Naur form or Pāṇini–Backus Form (BNF or PBF, pronounced ), also known as Backus normal form, is a notation system for defining the syntax of programming languages and other formal languages, developed by John Backus and Peter Naur. It is a metasyntax for context-free grammars, providing a precise way to outline the rules of a language's structure.
It has been widely used in official specifications, manuals, and textbooks on programming language theory, as well as to describe document formats, instruction sets, and communication protocols. Over time, variations such as extended Backus–Naur form (EBNF) and augmented Backus–Naur form (ABNF) have emerged, building on the original framework with added features.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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The TEI points the publisher in a proper direction but does not presume to make all the decisions for him or her. Essentially, the goal of encoding was to eliminate, as much as possible, the hindrances to information-networking, so that if an institution acquires a database, everybody associated with the institution can have access to it. CALALUCA demonstrated a portion of Volume 160, because it had the most…
Library of Congress, Workshop on Electronic Texts
States what Backus–Naur form is.
The form of expression adopted by the savage, as in "Water, give me," is the simplest type of the approximate arrangement. In pleonasms, which are comparatively prevalent among the uneducated, the same essential structure is seen; as, for instance, in--"The men, they were there." Again, the old possessive case--"The king, his crown," conforms to the like order of thought. Moreover, the fact that the indirect mode is…
Herbert Spencer, The Philosophy of Style
States what Backus–Naur form is.
The chief business of the logician is to classify arguments; for all testing clearly depends on classification. The classes of the logicians are defined by certain typical forms called syllogisms. For example, the syllogism called _Barbara_ is as follows: S is M; M is P: Hence, S is P. Or, to put words for letters— Enoch and Elijah were men; all men die: Hence, Enoch and Elijah must have died. The “is P” of the…
Charles S. Peirce, Chance, Love, and Logic
States what Backus–Naur form is.
Related ideas
- Formal language
- Germany
- Alan Turing
- Anno Domini
- Formal grammar
- Noam Chomsky
- Switzerland
- Sanskrit
- Emil Leon Post
- Symbol
- Metalanguage
- Generative grammar
- Australia
- Sweden
- Computer science
- Boolean algebra
- Pāṇini
- Context-free grammar
- Recursion (computer science)
- Canonical normal form
Place in the tradition
Part of Propositional logic.