What is the purpose of parentheses () in a programming expression?

The use of parentheses in a programming expression serves primarily to group expressions. This grouping is crucial because it influences the order of operations in the evaluation of the expression. When parentheses are employed, the operations contained within them are performed first, allowing for more complex mathematical or logical combinations to be evaluated correctly.

For instance, in a mathematical expression like (2 + 3) * 4, the addition inside the parentheses occurs before multiplication, leading to a final result of 20 rather than 14. This mechanism helps programmers control how expressions are interpreted by the compiler or interpreter, ensuring that the intended calculations are executed accurately.

In addition to grouping expressions, parentheses are often utilized in function calls to pass arguments, but their primary purpose in a broader context is to clarify and dictate the sequence of operations in expressions.