Certain coding rules in a programming language that make it easier for a person to write a program. For example, in Perl, the double dot operator is used to create multiple values. Writing ('A' .. 'Z') declares a range of values from "A" to "Z." In many other languages, each value has to be declared individually such as 'A','B','C' etc.

"Syntactic saccharin" is used synonymously with syntactic sugar; however, it also tends to refer to syntax that offers little or no value to the programmer, such as a symbol or word that is always required even though it adds no uniqueness to the expression. Contrast with syntactic salt.