Re: Definition of Semantic: was What Lua can do that other programming languages can't do?

[Tim Hill <drtimhill@...>]

Well, I think that pretty much agrees with my informal, but (imho) useful simplification :) … and yes as you note a rigorous understanding of semantics is a complex topic (and in any case has yet to be fully defined).

--Tim

On Mar 25, 2013, at 8:19 PM, Michael Richter <ttmrichter@gmail.com> wrote:

The proper use of "semantics" as it applies to computing can be found (in summary) here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_semantics_of_programming_languages.   (The full version of it is an undergraduate course or ten.)

If you're using the word "semantic" or its related forms in a conversation about computing and it doesn't mean what I linked to, you're using it incorrectly.

Incidentally the Wikipedia page there links to a pretty decent introduction to the field.

--
"Perhaps people don't believe this, but throughout all of the discussions of entering China our focus has really been what's best for the Chinese people. It's not been about our revenue or profit or whatnot."
--Sergey Brin, demonstrating the emptiness of the "don't be evil" mantra.