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In infix notation, unlike in prefix or postfix notations, parentheses surrounding groups of operands and operators are necessary to indicate the intended order in which operations are to be performed. In the absence of parentheses, certain precedence rules determine the order of operations.
To convert, the program reads each symbol in order and does something based on that symbol. The result for the above examples would be (in reverse Polish notation) "3 4 +" and "3 4 2 1 − × +", respectively. The shunting yard algorithm will correctly parse all valid infix expressions, but does not reject all invalid expressions.
In computer science, an operator-precedence parser is a bottom-up parser that interprets an operator-precedence grammar.For example, most calculators use operator-precedence parsers to convert from the human-readable infix notation relying on order of operations to a format that is optimized for evaluation such as Reverse Polish notation (RPN).
Order of operations arose due to the adaptation of infix notation in standard mathematical notation, which can be notationally ambiguous without such conventions, as opposed to postfix notation or prefix notation, which do not need orders of operations.
For example, in arithmetic, one typically writes "2 + 2 = 4" instead of "=(+(2,2),4)". It is common to regard formulas in infix notation as abbreviations for the corresponding formulas in prefix notation, cf. also term structure vs. representation. The definitions above use infix notation for binary connectives such as .
An operator which is non-associative cannot compete for operands with operators of equal precedence. In Prolog for example, the infix operator :-is non-associative, so constructs such as a :- b :- c are syntax errors. Unary prefix operators such as − (negation) or sin (trigonometric function) are typically associative prefix operators.
Video: Keys pressed for calculating eight times six on a HP-32SII (employing RPN) from 1991. Reverse Polish notation (RPN), also known as reverse Łukasiewicz notation, Polish postfix notation or simply postfix notation, is a mathematical notation in which operators follow their operands, in contrast to prefix or Polish notation (PN), in which operators precede their operands.
Compound terms with functors that are declared as operators can be written in prefix or infix notation. For example, the terms -(z), +(a,b) and =(X,Y) can also be written as -z, a+b and X=Y, respectively. Users can declare arbitrary functors as operators with different precedences to allow for domain-specific notations.