Gunter, Carl A2023-05-222023-05-221991-09-012007-07-27https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/7256The way to specify a programming language has been a topic of heated debate for some decades and at present there is no consensus on how this is best done. Real languages are almost always specified informally; nevertheless, precision is often enough lacking that more formal approaches could benefit both programmers and language implementors. My purpose is to look at a few of these formal approaches in hope of establishing some distinctions or at least stirring some discussion.Report