Editing Semantics (computer science) (section)

{{confuse|Computational semantics}}
{{Short description|Mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages}}
{{Semantics}}
{{Formal languages}}

In [[programming language theory]], '''semantics''' is the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of [[programming language]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Joseph Goguen|first=Joseph A.|last=Goguen |chapter=Semantics of computation |title=Category Theory Applied to Computation and Control |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |date=1975 |volume=25 |pages=151–163 |doi=10.1007/3-540-07142-3_75|isbn=978-3-540-07142-6 }}</ref> Semantics assigns [[computation]]al meaning to valid [[string (computer science)|strings]] in a [[programming language syntax]]. It is closely related to, and often crosses over with, the [[Semantics of logic|semantics of mathematical proofs]].

'''Semantics''' describes the processes a computer follows when [[Execution (computing)|executing]] a program in that specific language. This can be done by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program, or giving an explanation of how the program will be executed on a certain [[computer platform|platform]], thereby creating a [[model of computation]].