Montages Specifications of Realistic Programming Languages

Philipp W. Kutter (Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule, Switzerland)

Alfonso Pierantonio (Università di L'Aquila, Italy)

Abstract: Montages are a new way of describing all aspects of programming languages formally. Such specifications are intelligible for a broad range of people involved in programming language design and use. In order to enhance readability we combine visual and textual elements to yield specifications similar in structure, length, and complexity to those in common language manuals, but with a formal semantics. The formal semantics is based on Gurevich's Abstract State Machines (formerly called Evolving Algebras).

Keywords: Montages, abstract state machines, language design, modular specifications, programming languages specifications, visual formalisms

Categories: D.2.1, D.3.1, F.3.2