The dangling else is a problem in programming of parser generators in which an optional else clause in an if–then(–else) statement results in nested conditionals being ambiguous. Formally, the reference context-free grammar of the language is ambiguous, meaning there is more than one correct parse tree.
In many programming languages one may write conditionally executed code in two forms: the if-then form, and the if-then-else form – the else clause is optional:
if a then s if b then s1 else s2
This gives rise to an ambiguity in interpretation when there are nested statements, specifically whenever an if-then form appears as s1 in an if-then-else form:
if a then if b then s else s2
In this example, s is unambiguously executed when a is true and b is true, but one may interpret s2 as being executed when a is false (thus attaching the else to the first if) or when a is true and b is false (thus attaching the else to the second if). In other words, one may see the previous statement as either of the following expressions:
if a then (if b then s) else s2 if a then (if b then s else s2)
The dangling else problem dates to ALGOL 60,[1] and has been resolved in various ways in subsequent languages. In LR parsers, the dangling else is the archetypal example of a shift-reduce conflict.