Abstract syntax tree
lastmod 2025-11-20created 2020-04-174 edits
In computer science, an abstract syntax tree (AST), or simply syntax tree, is a tree of the abstract syntactic structure of source code written in a programming language. Each node of the tree denotes a construct occurring in the source code. The syntax is abstract in the sense that it does not represent every detail that appears in the real syntax.
Abstract syntax trees are distinguished from traditional parse trees.
Abstract syntax trees are also used in program analysis and program transformation systems.