Metasyntax

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A metasyntax is a syntax used to describe the syntax of languages, usually in the context of computer programming languages.

Although many different metasyntaxes are possible, Backus-Naur form (BNF), Extended Backus-Naur form (EBNF), and Augmented Backus-Naur form (ABNF), which express syntax as a set of derivation rules, are almost universally used. The variables in these metasyntaxes are properly known as metasyntactic variables, although the term is used informally in other ways.

[edit] See also

• Attribute grammar
• Two-level grammar