denotational semantics

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

denotational semantics An approach to the semantics of programming languages in which the meaning of a program in a particular language is given by a valuation function that associates with each well-formed syntactic construct of the language an abstract value, e.g. a term with a number, a test with a truth value, or a command with a function on states. These valuation functions are compositional or recursive in nature: the value of a program is specified as a function of the values denoted by its syntactic subcomponents. To define valuation functions it is usually necessary to solve functional equations using fixed-point methods.

This approach was initiated and developed by Christopher Strachey and Dana Scott to provide a semantic theory that was more abstract than operational semantics. It is less abstract than axiomatic semantics.

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JOHN DAINTITH. "denotational semantics." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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