2. Syntax

All programming languages have a set of rules on what is, and is not allowed when forming a line of code. In other words, all programming languages have a 'grammar'.

Syntax is the word used to describe the grammatical rules of a programming language.

Typical syntax rules

Every language is different but here are some typical syntax rules

End of statement marker: Many languages insist on a semi-colon ';' to indicate an end-of-statement, like this (other languages do not)

print z;

Rules about forming a function: High level languages set out rules about the general layout of a function, like this

    function this_is_a_function () {

      ..... (code in here)

    }

The rule above shows that in this programming language, every function must start with the word 'function'

followed by a valid name for the function (this_is_a_function).

And all the code for the function is enclosed by curly brackets { }

Rules about recognised keywords: A computer language is made up of a limited set of recognised words that do something in the language, like this

print
if
then
for

These must be spelt properly.