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A metasyntax is a syntax used to describe the syntax of languages, usually in the context of computer programming languages.
Although many different metasyntaxes are possible, Backus-Naur form (BNF) and Extended Backus-Naur form (EBNF), which express syntax as a set of derivation rule s, are almost universally used. The variables in these metasyntaxes are properly known as metasyntactic variables, although the term is used informally in other ways.
See also: Attribute grammar, Two-level grammar
