Language primitive

In computing, language primitives are the simplest elements available in a programming language. A primitive is the smallest 'unit of processing' available to a programmer of a given machine, or can be an atomic element of an expression in a language.

Not to be confused with Language construct.

Primitives are units with a meaning, i.e., a semantic value in the language. Thus they are different from tokens in a parser, which are the minimal elements of syntax.

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