Action semantics 486493 222526288 2008-06-29T20:37:33Z Alaibot 1324179 Robot: sorting stub (based on existing categorisation) <!-- {{Cleanup-context}} --> '''Action semantics''' is a framework for the [[formal specification]] of [[formal semantics of programming languages|semantics of programming languages]] invented by [[David Watt]] and [[Peter D. Mosses]]. It is a mixture of [[denotational semantics|denotational]], [[operational semantics|operational]] and [[algebraic semantics]]. Action Semantics aims to be pragmatic. Action-Semantic Descriptions (ASDs) are designed to scale up to handle realistic programming languages. This is aided by the extensibility and modifiability of ASDs. This helps to ensure that extensions and changes do not require too many changes in the description. This is in contrast to the typical case when extending denotational or operational semantics, which may require reformulation of the entire description. The Action Semantics framework was originally developed at the [[University of Aarhus]] and the [[University of Glasgow]]. Groups and individuals around the world have since contributed further to the approach. ==External links== * [http://www.brics.dk/Projects/AS Action Semantics website] including a [http://www.brics.dk/Projects/AS/AboutActionSemantics.html brief introduction] [[Category:Semantics]] [[Category:Formal specification languages]] {{formalmethods-stub}}