CSCI 316: Quiz 3 - Syntax and Semantics

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The primary purpose of a formal syntax description is to: *

1 point

Improve execution efficiency

Define the legal structure of programs

Specify run-time behavior

Describe program meaning

Enforce type safety

Backus–Naur Form (BNF) is used to describe: *

1 point

Program syntax

Dynamic semantics

Program execution order

Memory allocation

Static semantics

In BNF, the symbol ::= means: *

1 point

Is equivalent to

Is derived from

Is defined as

Is equal to

Is evaluated as

In BNF, angle brackets (< >) are used to denote: *

1 point

Terminals

Keywords

Nonterminals

Operators

Literals

A terminal symbol in a grammar is one that: *

1 point

Appears only on the left-hand side

Is optional

Can be expanded further

Represents semantic rules

Represents actual program tokens

A nonterminal symbol is best described as: *

1 point

Run-time entity

Placeholder for language construct

Literal token

Semantic rule

Reserved word

Which of the following is true of a context-free grammar? *

1 point

Each production has a single nonterminal on the left

It cannot describe programming languages

It defines execution behavior

Right-hand sides must contain terminals only

Left-hand sides may have multiple symbols

A parse tree represents: *

1 point

Type checking results

A hierarchical syntactic structure

Compiler optimizations

Program execution order

Memory layout

Two different parse trees for the same string indicate: *

1 point

A. Left recursion

C. Grammar ambiguity

B. Operator precedence

E. Lexical ambiguity

D. Static semantic error

Ambiguity in a grammar is undesirable primarily because it: *

1 point

Prevents compilation

Requires dynamic typing

Reduces readability

Makes parsing inefficient

Leads to multiple meanings for the same program

Which technique is commonly used to eliminate ambiguity in expressions? *

1 point

Adding semantic rules

Removing recursion

Using denotational semantics

Defining operator precedence and associativity

Using attribute grammars

Extended BNF (EBNF) *

1 point

Improve grammar readability

Replace BNF completely

Eliminate parse trees

Describe semantics

Increase expressive power

In EBNF, { X } means: *

1 point

X must appear once

X is optional

One or more repetitions of X

X is a terminal

Zero or more repetitions of X

In EBNF, [ X ] indicates that X: *

1 point

Is optional

Is ambiguous

Is required

Is recursive

Is repeated

Static semantics primarily concerns: *

1 point

Meaning of program output

Run-time errors

Program execution order

Memory management

Context-sensitive constraints

Which of the following is a static semantic rule? *

1 point

Division by zero is illegal

Stack overflow detection

Variables must be declared before use

Instructions are fetched sequentially

Loops must terminate

An attribute in an attribute grammar is used to: *

1 point

Allocate memory

Replace parse trees

Store semantic information

Define syntax rules

Control execution flow

Which of the following is an example of an attribute? *

1 point

If keyword

{ } repetition

::=

Type of an identifier

Semantics deals primarily with: *

1 point

Program parsing

Program structure

Program meaning

Program formatting

Program size

Which semantic approach describes meaning by simulating execution? *

1 point

Attribute grammars

Denotational semantics

Axiomatic semantics

Operational semantics

Static semantics

The primary advantage of denotational semantics is that it is: *

1 point

Informal and intuitive

Execution-based

Easy for beginners

Mathematically rigorous

Implementation-specific

Axiomatic semantics is based on: *

1 point

Assertions about program states

State machines

Mathematical functions

Grammar rules

Attribute propagation

In axiomatic semantics, a postcondition specifies: *

1 point

Grammar derivation

Execution order

Parsing success

Final program state

Initial variable bindings

Which semantic method is most useful for proving program correctness? *

1 point

Static

Axiomatic

Operational

Denotational

Dynamic

Which semantic method most closely resembles how interpreters work? *

1 point

Static

Operational

Axiomatic

Denotational

Attribute-based

Static semantics are usually enforced: *

1 point

During linking

During execution

By the operating system

At compile time

By the programmer manually

Which of the following is NOT typically part of syntax description? *

1 point

Operator precedence

Program structure

Expression formation rules

Variable type compatibility

Valid statement forms

Which approach to semantics is most abstract and implementation-independent? *

1 point

Axiomatic

Attribute grammars

Denotational

Parsing-based

Operational

Attribute grammars help bridge the gap between: *

1 point

Lexical analysis and parsing

Programs and machines

Syntax and semantics

Static and dynamic typing

Compilation and execution

The main role this chapter topic is to: *

1 point

Teach a programming language

Describe language history

Provide formal tools for language description

Explain compiler construction in detail

Compare programming paradigms

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