In computer science, abstract syntax tree (AST) is a data structure representing something which has been parsed, often used as a compiler or interpreter's internal representation of a computer program while it is being optimized and from which code generation is performed. The range of all possible such structures is described by the abstract syntax.

Sometimes the code behind an abstract syntax trees (classes, for example), are generated by a parser generator, but many language engineers prefer to design and implement the tree themselves, as it expresses the fundamental structure of the language.

See also

• Language syntax tree (LST)
• Semantic resolution tree (RST)
• Interpretation syntax tree (IST)
• Code generation syntax tree (CST)
• Abstract semantic graph (ASG)
• Symbol table
• Document object model
• Datrix
• TreeCC

References

External links

• Citations from CiteSeer