Action semantics

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Action semantics is a framework for the formal specification of semantics of programming languages invented by David Watt and Peter D. Mosses in the 1990s. It is a mixture of denotational, operational and algebraic semantics.

Action semantics aim to be pragmatic, and 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.