/ elang

Grammar and Expansions

We specify the E Language in two layers. First, we present the E grammar, and show an expansion to Kernel-E. Kernel-E is a small subset of E -- every valid Kernel-E program is also an E program of the same meaning. Kernel-E is a small lambda language suitable for analysis by automatic program analyzers.

In the following sections, we present each construct of the E grammar. For each, we give both an informal and a formal meaning. If the construct is also part of the Kernel-E subset, we simply point to the corresponding section of the Kernel-E manual for its formal meaning. Otherwise, we show the canonical expansion of the construct to Kernel-E. This expansion is the only precise meaning of these constructs.

• Expressions by precedence and associativity
• Primitive Expressions (no precedence needed)
• Patterns (including variable declaration)
• Quasi-Literal Expressions and Patterns
  See also the draft proposal Quasi-Literals and XML
• Methods and Matchers (object behavior)
• Lexical Grammar (Tokens)