Formally Defining a Programming Language

Hi,


n designing my own Programming Language and given the existence
of a lot of programming languages and an infinity of "knowhows" that
is the Internet, I resorted to adhoc adaptation methods that worked
incredibly well!


However, now, I want to formalize the definition of my programming
language. I find that the Backus Naur Form is a notation but reaching
to that form requires decisions such as the following illustration
would suggest:


                  Illustration of Correct C++
                  -----------------------------------


                          function_declaration:


                                  function_specifier return_type
                                          fct_declarator '(' param_decl ')
                                                  cv_qualifier exception_specification ';'
                                  ;


          In this illustration, I am inclined to ask:


          i) What is it that contributes to deciding that
                  'inline' should be a separate "specifier"
                in the grammar?


        ii) How did the designers come up with
                something called a "specifier"?


        iii) What is a "specifier" in a non-C/C++ context
                    by the way?


Therefore, I suspect that there is a Formal Study of Programming
Languages that occurs in Selected Schools.


Can readers of this forum help direct to relevant materials wrt
Formalism that I can study to learn about Formalisms that will help in
deciding about my Programming Language?


Sincerely,
Seima Rao.

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