Syntax Summary
The following descriptions of Scala tokens uses literal characters ‘c’ when referring to the ASCII fragment \u0000 – \u007F.
The nine Bidirectional explicit formatting
characters \u202a - \u202e and \u2066 - \u2069 (inclusive) are forbidden
from appearing in source files. Note that they can be represented using
unicode escapes in string and character literals.
Lexical Syntax
The lexical syntax of Scala is given by the following grammar in EBNF form:
whiteSpace ::= ‘\u0020’ | ‘\u0009’ | ‘\u000D’ | ‘\u000A’
upper ::= ‘A’ | … | ‘Z’ | ‘$’ and any character in Unicode categories Lu, Lt or Nl,
and any character in Unicode categories Lo and Lm that doesn't have
contributory property Other_Lowercase
lower ::= ‘a’ | … | ‘z’ | ‘_’ and any character in Unicode category Ll,
and any character in Unicode categories Lo or Lm that has contributory
property Other_Lowercase
letter ::= upper | lower
digit ::= ‘0’ | … | ‘9’
paren ::= ‘(’ | ‘)’ | ‘[’ | ‘]’ | ‘{’ | ‘}’
delim ::= ‘`’ | ‘'’ | ‘"’ | ‘.’ | ‘;’ | ‘,’
opchar ::= ‘!’ | ‘#’ | ‘%’ | ‘&’ | ‘*’ | ‘+’ | ‘-’ | ‘/’ | ‘:’ |
‘<’ | ‘=’ | ‘>’ | ‘?’ | ‘@’ | ‘\’ | ‘^’ | ‘|’ | ‘~’
and any character in Unicode categories Sm or So
printableChar ::= all characters in [\u0020, \u007E] inclusive
UnicodeEscape ::= ‘\’ ‘u’ {‘u’} hexDigit hexDigit hexDigit hexDigit
hexDigit ::= ‘0’ | … | ‘9’ | ‘A’ | … | ‘F’ | ‘a’ | … | ‘f’
binaryDigit ::= ‘0’ | ‘1’
charEscapeSeq ::= ‘\’ (‘b’ | ‘t’ | ‘n’ | ‘f’ | ‘r’ | ‘"’ | ‘'’ | ‘\’)
escapeSeq ::= UnicodeEscape | charEscapeSeq
op ::= opchar {opchar}
varid ::= lower idrest
boundvarid ::= varid
| ‘`’ varid ‘`’
plainid ::= upper idrest
| varid
| op
id ::= plainid
| ‘`’ { charNoBackQuoteOrNewline | escapeSeq } ‘`’
idrest ::= {letter | digit} [‘_’ op]
integerLiteral ::= (decimalNumeral | hexNumeral) [‘L’ | ‘l’]
decimalNumeral ::= digit {digit}
hexNumeral ::= ‘0’ (‘x’ | ‘X’) hexDigit {hexDigit}
binaryNumeral ::= ‘0’ (‘b’ | ‘B’) binaryDigit {binaryDigit}
floatingPointLiteral
::= digit {digit} ‘.’ digit {digit} [exponentPart] [floatType]
| ‘.’ digit {digit} [exponentPart] [floatType]
| digit {digit} exponentPart [floatType]
| digit {digit} [exponentPart] floatType
exponentPart ::= (‘E’ | ‘e’) [‘+’ | ‘-’] digit {digit}
floatType ::= ‘F’ | ‘f’ | ‘D’ | ‘d’
booleanLiteral ::= ‘true’ | ‘false’
characterLiteral ::= ‘'’ (charNoQuoteOrNewline | escapeSeq) ‘'’
stringLiteral ::= ‘"’ {stringElement} ‘"’
| ‘"""’ multiLineChars ‘"""’
stringElement ::= charNoDoubleQuoteOrNewline
| escapeSeq
multiLineChars ::= {[‘"’] [‘"’] charNoDoubleQuote} {‘"’}
interpolatedString
::= alphaid ‘"’ {[‘\’] interpolatedStringPart | ‘\\’ | ‘\"’} ‘"’
| alphaid ‘"""’ {[‘"’] [‘"’] char \ (‘"’ | ‘\$’) | escape} {‘"’} ‘"""’
interpolatedStringPart
::= printableChar \ (‘"’ | ‘$’ | ‘\’) | escape
escape ::= ‘\$\$’
| ‘\$"’
| ‘\$’ alphaid
| ‘\$’ BlockExpr
alphaid ::= upper idrest
| varid
symbolLiteral ::= ‘'’ plainid
comment ::= ‘/*’ “any sequence of characters; nested comments are allowed” ‘*/’
| ‘//’ “any sequence of characters up to end of line”
nl ::= ´\mathit{“new line character”}´
semi ::= ‘;’ | nl {nl}
Context-free Syntax
The context-free syntax of Scala is given by the following EBNF grammar:
Literal ::= [‘-’] integerLiteral
| [‘-’] floatingPointLiteral
| booleanLiteral
| characterLiteral
| stringLiteral
| interpolatedString
| symbolLiteral
| ‘null’
QualId ::= id {‘.’ id}
ids ::= id {‘,’ id}
Path ::= StableId
| [id ‘.’] ‘this’
StableId ::= id
| Path ‘.’ id
| [id ‘.’] ‘super’ [ClassQualifier] ‘.’ id
ClassQualifier ::= ‘[’ id ‘]’
Type ::= FunctionArgTypes ‘=>’ Type
| InfixType [ExistentialClause]
FunctionArgTypes ::= InfixType
| ‘(’ [ ParamType {‘,’ ParamType } ] ‘)’
ExistentialClause ::= ‘forSome’ ‘{’ ExistentialDcl {semi ExistentialDcl} ‘}’
ExistentialDcl ::= ‘type’ TypeDcl
| ‘val’ ValDcl
InfixType ::= CompoundType {id [nl] CompoundType}
CompoundType ::= AnnotType {‘with’ AnnotType} [Refinement]
| Refinement
AnnotType ::= SimpleType {Annotation}
SimpleType ::= SimpleType TypeArgs
| SimpleType ‘#’ id
| StableId
| Path ‘.’ ‘type’
| ‘(’ Types ‘)’
TypeArgs ::= ‘[’ Types ‘]’
Types ::= Type {‘,’ Type}
Refinement ::= [nl] ‘{’ RefineStat {semi RefineStat} ‘}’
RefineStat ::= Dcl
| ‘type’ TypeDef
|
TypePat ::= Type
Ascription ::= ‘:’ InfixType
| ‘:’ Annotation {Annotation}
| ‘:’ ‘_’ ‘*’
Expr ::= (Bindings | [‘implicit’] (id | ‘_’)) ‘=>’ Expr
| Expr1
Expr1 ::= ‘if’ ‘(’ Expr ‘)’ {nl} Expr [[semi] ‘else’ Expr]
| ‘while’ ‘(’ Expr ‘)’ {nl} Expr
| ‘try’ Expr [‘catch’ Expr] [‘finally’ Expr]
| ‘do’ Expr [semi] ‘while’ ‘(’ Expr ‘)’
| ‘for’ (‘(’ Enumerators ‘)’ | ‘{’ Enumerators ‘}’) {nl} [‘yield’] Expr
| ‘throw’ Expr
| ‘return’ [Expr]
| [SimpleExpr ‘.’] id ‘=’ Expr
| PrefixOperator SimpleExpr ‘=’ Expr
| SimpleExpr1 ArgumentExprs ‘=’ Expr
| PostfixExpr
| PostfixExpr Ascription
| PostfixExpr ‘match’ ‘{’ CaseClauses ‘}’
PostfixExpr ::= InfixExpr [id [nl]]
InfixExpr ::= PrefixExpr
| InfixExpr id [nl] InfixExpr
PrefixExpr ::= [PrefixOperator] SimpleExpr
PrefixOperator ::= ‘-’ | ‘+’ | ‘~’ | ‘!’
SimpleExpr ::= ‘new’ (ClassTemplate | TemplateBody)
| BlockExpr
| SimpleExpr1 [‘_’]
SimpleExpr1 ::= Literal
| Path
| ‘_’
| ‘(’ [Exprs] ‘)’
| SimpleExpr ‘.’ id
| SimpleExpr TypeArgs
| SimpleExpr1 ArgumentExprs
| XmlExpr
Exprs ::= Expr {‘,’ Expr}
ArgumentExprs ::= ‘(’ [Exprs] ‘)’
| ‘(’ [Exprs ‘,’] PostfixExpr ‘:’ ‘_’ ‘*’ ‘)’
| [nl] BlockExpr
BlockExpr ::= ‘{’ CaseClauses ‘}’
| ‘{’ Block ‘}’
Block ::= BlockStat {semi BlockStat} [ResultExpr]
BlockStat ::= Import
| {Annotation} [‘implicit’] [‘lazy’] Def
| {Annotation} {LocalModifier} TmplDef
| Expr1
|
ResultExpr ::= Expr1
| (Bindings | [‘implicit’] (id | ‘_’) [‘:’ CompoundType]) ‘=>’ Block
Enumerators ::= Generator {semi Generator}
Generator ::= [‘case’] Pattern1 ‘<-’ Expr {[semi] Guard | semi Pattern1 ‘=’ Expr}
CaseClauses ::= CaseClause { CaseClause }
CaseClause ::= ‘case’ Pattern [Guard] ‘=>’ Block
Guard ::= ‘if’ PostfixExpr
Pattern ::= Pattern1 { ‘|’ Pattern1 }
Pattern1 ::= boundvarid ‘:’ TypePat
| ‘_’ ‘:’ TypePat
| Pattern2
Pattern2 ::= id [‘@’ Pattern3]
| Pattern3
Pattern3 ::= SimplePattern
| SimplePattern { id [nl] SimplePattern }
SimplePattern ::= ‘_’
| varid
| Literal
| StableId
| StableId ‘(’ [Patterns] ‘)’
| StableId ‘(’ [Patterns ‘,’] [id ‘@’] ‘_’ ‘*’ ‘)’
| ‘(’ [Patterns] ‘)’
| XmlPattern
Patterns ::= Pattern [‘,’ Patterns]
| ‘_’ ‘*’
TypeParamClause ::= ‘[’ VariantTypeParam {‘,’ VariantTypeParam} ‘]’
FunTypeParamClause::= ‘[’ TypeParam {‘,’ TypeParam} ‘]’
VariantTypeParam ::= {Annotation} [‘+’ | ‘-’] TypeParam
TypeParam ::= (id | ‘_’) [TypeParamClause] [‘>:’ Type] [‘<:’ Type]
{‘<%’ Type} {‘:’ Type}
ParamClauses ::= {ParamClause} [[nl] ‘(’ ‘implicit’ Params ‘)’]
ParamClause ::= [nl] ‘(’ [Params] ‘)’
Params ::= Param {‘,’ Param}
Param ::= {Annotation} id [‘:’ ParamType] [‘=’ Expr]
ParamType ::= Type
| ‘=>’ Type
| Type ‘*’
ClassParamClauses ::= {ClassParamClause}
[[nl] ‘(’ ‘implicit’ ClassParams ‘)’]
ClassParamClause ::= [nl] ‘(’ [ClassParams] ‘)’
ClassParams ::= ClassParam {‘,’ ClassParam}
ClassParam ::= {Annotation} {Modifier} [(‘val’ | ‘var’)]
id ‘:’ ParamType [‘=’ Expr]
Bindings ::= ‘(’ Binding {‘,’ Binding} ‘)’
Binding ::= (id | ‘_’) [‘:’ Type]
Modifier ::= LocalModifier
| AccessModifier
| ‘override’
LocalModifier ::= ‘abstract’
| ‘final’
| ‘sealed’
| ‘implicit’
| ‘lazy’
AccessModifier ::= (‘private’ | ‘protected’) [AccessQualifier]
AccessQualifier ::= ‘[’ (id | ‘this’) ‘]’
Annotation ::= ‘@’ SimpleType {ArgumentExprs}
ConstrAnnotation ::= ‘@’ SimpleType ArgumentExprs
TemplateBody ::= [nl] ‘{’ [SelfType] TemplateStat {semi TemplateStat} ‘}’
TemplateStat ::= Import
| {Annotation [nl]} {Modifier} Def
| {Annotation [nl]} {Modifier} Dcl
| Expr
|
SelfType ::= id [‘:’ Type] ‘=>’
| ‘this’ ‘:’ Type ‘=>’
Import ::= ‘import’ ImportExpr {‘,’ ImportExpr}
ImportExpr ::= StableId ‘.’ (id | ‘_’ | ImportSelectors)
ImportSelectors ::= ‘{’ {ImportSelector ‘,’} (ImportSelector | ‘_’) ‘}’
ImportSelector ::= id [‘=>’ id | ‘=>’ ‘_’]
Dcl ::= ‘val’ ValDcl
| ‘var’ VarDcl
| ‘def’ FunDcl
| ‘type’ {nl} TypeDcl
ValDcl ::= ids ‘:’ Type
VarDcl ::= ids ‘:’ Type
FunDcl ::= FunSig [‘:’ Type]
FunSig ::= id [FunTypeParamClause] ParamClauses
TypeDcl ::= id [TypeParamClause] [‘>:’ Type] [‘<:’ Type]
PatVarDef ::= ‘val’ PatDef
| ‘var’ VarDef
Def ::= PatVarDef
| ‘def’ FunDef
| ‘type’ {nl} TypeDef
| TmplDef
PatDef ::= Pattern2 {‘,’ Pattern2} [‘:’ Type] ‘=’ Expr
VarDef ::= PatDef
| ids ‘:’ Type ‘=’ ‘_’
FunDef ::= FunSig [‘:’ Type] ‘=’ Expr
| FunSig [nl] ‘{’ Block ‘}’
| ‘this’ ParamClause ParamClauses
(‘=’ ConstrExpr | [nl] ConstrBlock)
TypeDef ::= id [TypeParamClause] ‘=’ Type
TmplDef ::= [‘case’] ‘class’ ClassDef
| [‘case’] ‘object’ ObjectDef
| ‘trait’ TraitDef
ClassDef ::= id [TypeParamClause] {ConstrAnnotation} [AccessModifier]
ClassParamClauses ClassTemplateOpt
TraitDef ::= id [TypeParamClause] TraitTemplateOpt
ObjectDef ::= id ClassTemplateOpt
ClassTemplateOpt ::= ‘extends’ ClassTemplate | [[‘extends’] TemplateBody]
TraitTemplateOpt ::= ‘extends’ TraitTemplate | [[‘extends’] TemplateBody]
ClassTemplate ::= [EarlyDefs] ClassParents [TemplateBody]
TraitTemplate ::= [EarlyDefs] TraitParents [TemplateBody]
ClassParents ::= Constr {‘with’ AnnotType}
TraitParents ::= AnnotType {‘with’ AnnotType}
Constr ::= AnnotType {ArgumentExprs}
EarlyDefs ::= ‘{’ [EarlyDef {semi EarlyDef}] ‘}’ ‘with’
EarlyDef ::= {Annotation [nl]} {Modifier} PatVarDef
ConstrExpr ::= SelfInvocation
| ConstrBlock
ConstrBlock ::= ‘{’ SelfInvocation {semi BlockStat} ‘}’
SelfInvocation ::= ‘this’ ArgumentExprs {ArgumentExprs}
TopStatSeq ::= TopStat {semi TopStat}
TopStat ::= {Annotation [nl]} {Modifier} TmplDef
| Import
| Packaging
| PackageObject
|
Packaging ::= ‘package’ QualId [nl] ‘{’ TopStatSeq ‘}’
PackageObject ::= ‘package’ ‘object’ ObjectDef
CompilationUnit ::= {‘package’ QualId semi} TopStatSeq