Déclaratif

Déclaratif is a term used in various fields, most notably in computer science and linguistics, to describe a style of programming or communication that focuses on what the result should be, rather than how to achieve it. This is in contrast to an imperative approach, which specifies a sequence of commands to execute.

In programming, a declarative language describes the desired outcome, and the underlying system determines the steps needed to reach that outcome. Examples include SQL for database queries, HTML for web page structure, and CSS for styling. Instead of telling the computer "fetch this record, then sort it by date, then display it," a declarative approach would be something like "show me all records ordered by date." The system then figures out the most efficient way to execute that request.

In linguistics, declarative sentences are statements that convey information or state a fact. They typically have a subject and a predicate and are used to declare something about the subject. This is distinct from interrogative sentences (questions) or imperative sentences (commands). For instance, "The sky is blue" is a declarative sentence, whereas "Is the sky blue?" is interrogative, and "Look at the sky" is imperative. The core idea across these disciplines is the description of a state or outcome without detailing the procedural steps.