Pronunciation: [bˌiːˌɛnˈɛf] (IPA) 
The acronym "BNF" refers to the British National Formulary, a pharmaceutical reference book widely used in the UK. The correct spelling of "BNF" is [biː en ɛf], with "biː" (bee) representing the letter "B", "en" (ɛn) representing the letter "N", and "ɛf" (ef) representing the letter "F". It is important to use correct spelling in both written and verbal communication to ensure clarity and avoid confusion.
BNF stands for "Backus-Naur Form," which is a notation used to describe the syntax and structure of computer programming languages and other formal languages. It is named after computer scientists John Backus and Peter Naur, who independently developed this notation in the 1950s and 1960s.
In BNF, a language's grammar is defined using a set of production rules. The notation consists of a series of statements where each statement consists of a nonterminal symbol, followed by an arrow, and then a series of terminal and nonterminal symbols. The nonterminal symbols represent syntactic categories or abstract elements of the language, while the terminal symbols represent literal elements or tokens in the language.
The production rules in BNF describe how the nonterminal symbols can be combined to form valid sequences of symbols in the language. BNF is particularly useful for specifying the syntax and structure of programming languages, as well as other formal languages like regular expressions and context-free grammars.
By using BNF, programmers and language designers can precisely define the rules and structure of a language, making it easier to analyze and interpret code written in that language. BNF is also commonly used as the basis for tools like compilers, interpreters, and parser generators that can automatically parse and process code based on the defined grammar. The concise and formal nature of BNF allows for clear and unambiguous language specifications.
