Headlnie

Concrete syntax based on graphs or visual elements

Headline

Syntax aimed at reading and writing as opposed to a focus on processing

Illustration

Consider the following sequence of Java statements:

x = 42;
System.out.println(x);

This textual notation is easy to read and write by a human. This is also a consequences of the use of certain features such as the use of spaces and linebreaks or special characters for language concepts. However, such a textual notation may require special preprocessing (i.e., parsiing), before it can be manipulated comveniently by programs. This is why we may also need an abstract syntax.