Abstract Syntax Tree
An Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) is a tree representation of the abstract syntactic structure of source code written in a programming language. Each node in the tree denotes a construct occurring in the source code, such as expressions, statements, or declarations, abstracting away details like parentheses and formatting. ASTs are fundamental in compilers, interpreters, static analysis tools, and code transformation systems for parsing and manipulating code.
Developers should learn about ASTs when working on compiler design, code analysis, refactoring tools, or implementing domain-specific languages, as they provide a structured way to analyze and transform code. It's essential for tasks like linting, minification, transpilation (e.g., Babel for JavaScript), and optimizing code, enabling precise manipulation without dealing with raw text parsing complexities.