What is a mistake in the program where the rules of the programming language are not followed?

In computer science, a syntax error is an error in the syntax of a sequence of characters or tokens that is intended to be written in a particular programming language.

For compiled languages, syntax errors are detected at compile-time. A program will not compile until all syntax errors are corrected. For interpreted languages, however, a syntax error may be detected during program execution, and an interpreter's error messages might not differentiate syntax errors from errors of other kinds.

There is some disagreement as to just what errors are "syntax errors". For example, some would say that the use of an uninitialized variable's value in Java code is a syntax error, but many others would disagree[1][2] and would classify this as a (static) semantic error.

In 8-bit home computers that used BASIC interpreter as their primary user interface, the SYNTAX ERROR error message became somewhat notorious, as this was the response to any command or user input the interpreter could not parse. A syntax error can occur or take place, when an invalid equation is being typed on a calculator. This can be caused, for instance, by opening brackets without closing them, or less commonly, entering several decimal points in one number.

In Java the following is a syntactically correct statement:

System.out.println("Hello World");

while the following is not:

The second example would theoretically print the variable Hello World instead of the words "Hello World". However, a variable in Java cannot have a space in between, so the syntactically correct line would be System.out.println(Hello_World).

A compiler will flag a syntax error when given source code that does not meet the requirements of the language's grammar.

Type errors (such as an attempt to apply the ++ increment operator to a boolean variable in Java) and undeclared variable errors are sometimes considered to be syntax errors when they are detected at compile-time. However, it is common to classify such errors as (static) semantic errors instead.[2][3][4]

Syntax errors on calculators[edit]

Syntax error in a scientific calculator

A syntax error is one of several types of errors on calculators (most commonly found on scientific calculators and graphing calculators), representing that the equation that has been input has incorrect syntax of numbers, operations and so on. It can result in various ways, including but not limited to:

• An open bracket without closing parenthesis (unless missing closing parenthesis is at very end of equation)
• Using minus sign instead of negative symbol (or vice versa), which are distinct on most scientific calculators. Note that while some scientific calculators allow a minus sign to stand in for a negative symbol, the reverse is less common.

See also[edit]

• Tag soup

References[edit]

1. ^ Issue of syntax or semantics?
2. ^ a b Semantic Errors in Java
3. ^ Aho, Alfred V.; Monica S. Lam; Ravi Sethi; Jeffrey D. Ullman (2007). Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools (2nd ed.). Addison Wesley. ISBN 978-0-321-48681-3. Section 4.1.3: Syntax Error Handling, pp.194–195.
4. ^ Louden, Kenneth C. (1997). Compiler Construction: Principles and Practice. Brooks/Cole. ISBN 981-243-694-4. Exercise 1.3, pp.27–28.

Back in the old days, long before our understanding of coding became what it is today, programming errors could be truly disastrous. Luckily for us all, modern coding approaches and debugging systems make it a lot easier to fix these mistakes. 

The 7 most commonly encountered programming errors are:

1. Runtime errors

These bugs occur when the code “won’t play nice” with another computer, even if it worked perfectly fine on the developer’s own computer. These errors are especially frustrating because they directly impact the end user and make the application appear unreliable or even completely broken.

2. Logic errors

These errors can be extremely frustrating to deal with because nothing is inherently wrong with the code: the developer just didn’t program the computer to do the correct thing. In fact, a logic error caused by miscalculations between American and English units caused NASA to lose a spacecraft in 1999. 

3. Compilation errors

Compilation is the process of converting a high-level coding language into a lower-level language that can be better understood by the computer. Compilation errors occur when the compiler isn’t able to properly transform the high-level code into the lower-level one. This prevents the software from being launched or tested.

4. Syntax errors

Computer languages have their own specialized grammar rules. When these rules aren’t followed (for example, the developer omits the parentheses while writing code), a syntax error prevents the application from running. 

5. Interface errors

These bugs typically happen when the inputs the software receives do not conform to the accepted standards. When handled incorrectly, these errors can look like errors on your side even when they’re on the caller’s side, and vice versa. 

6. Resource errors

Sometimes, a program can force the computer it’s running on to attempt to allocate more resources (processor power, random access memory, disk space, etc.) than it has. This results in the program becoming bugged or even causes the entire system to crash.

7. Arithmetic errors

These errors are just like logic errors, but with mathematics. For example, a division equation may require the computer to divide by zero. Since this is mathematically impossible, it results in an error that prevents the software from working correctly.

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