Semantics (programming languages)
the field concerned with the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages
In programming language theory, semantics is the rigorous mathematical logic study of the meaning of programming languages. Semantics assigns computational meaning to valid strings in a programming language syntax. It is closely related to, and often crosses over with, the semantics of mathematical proofs.
Semantics describes the processes a computer follows when executing a program in that specific language. This can be done by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program, or giving an explanation of how the program will be executed on a certain platform, thereby creating a model of computation.
History
In 1967, Robert W. Floyd published the paper Assigning meanings to programs; his chief aim was "a rigorous standard for proofs about computer programs, including proofs of correctness, equivalence, and termination". Floyd further wrote:
A semantic definition of a programming language, in our approach, is founded on a syntactic definition. It must specify which of the phrases in a syntactically correct program represent commands, and what conditions must be imposed on an interpretation in the neighborhood of each command.
In 1969, Tony Hoare published a paper on Hoare logic seeded by Floyd's ideas, now sometimes collectively called axiomatic semantics.
In the 1970s, the terms operational semantics and denotational semantics emerged.
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