5.3 CONTEXT-FREE GRAMMARS AND PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
One of the most important uses of the theory of formal languages is in the definition of programming languages and in the construction of interpreters and compilers for them. The basic problem here is to define a programming language precisely and to use this definition as the starting point for the writing of efficient and reliable translation programs. Both regular and context-free languages are important in achieving this. As we have seen, regular languages are used in the recognition of certain simple patterns that occur in programming languages, but as we argue in the introduction to this chapter, we need context-free languages to model more complicated aspects.
As with most other languages, ...
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