Introduction to Formal Grammar

Grammar is the description of language in terms of its form and structure, as opposed to its function and meaning. Formal grammar describes the formation of strings from a language's alphabet that are valid according to the syntax of the language. It consists of a set of rules used to identify correct or incorrect strings of tokens in a language. It is also used to generate all possible strings over the alphabet that is syntactically correct in the language. Formal grammar is studied under the umbrella of applied mathematics, within a sub-discipline termed as formal language theory. Its applications are found in theoretical computer science, theoretical linguistics, formal semantics, mathematical logic and other fields. Most of the topics introduced in this book cover new techniques and the applications of formal grammar. It provides significant information of this discipline to help develop a good understanding of this field. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge.