Declarative Expression

A Declarative Expression is an expression statement whose expression meaning can be understood without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions (with declarative semantics).

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be a Referentially Transparent Expression.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • a SQL SELECT Statement, such as SELECT col2 AS age, COUNT(*) FROM table GROUP BY col2.
  • a Prolog Statement.
  • a Haskell Statement.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • an Imperative Statement.
• See: Source Code, Data Structure Definition Statement, Declarative Program, Declarative Language, Knowledge Representation Language, Semantics.

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References

2013

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Interchange_Format
  • … It has declarative semantics (i.e., the meaning of expressions in the representation can be understood without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions) …

1988

• (Przymusinski, 1988) ⇒ Teodor C. Przymusinski. (1988). “On the declarative semantics of deductive databases and logic programs." In Foundations of deductive databases and logic programming, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc..

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