Alan Cameron Wills - Domain Specific Languages

We've just published an updated set of samples for the DSL Tools. As well as updates to the previous examples, which show how to customize your DSL, there's now a complete small end-to-end showing how a DSL can be used to generate the code of a project...

We use partial classes a lot in the DSL Tools . We need them to help compose code that's generated from different places, and generated with handwritten code. If you're not familiar with it, a partial class definition is just a set of methods, properties...

RobR writes: re: DSL tools available I'd be interested to know how your tools differ from doing the following: - creating a bunch of stereotypes in a UML tool (possibly with some icons to make it look prettier). So for baggage handling I could build various...

I do get irritated by over-officious tools. "You can't use that name, you've used it already over there." Well, I know, but I'm going to change that in a moment, and it'll be alright in the end, really. In the DSL Tools Customization Samples &...

Software development is teamwork. The most important techniques you learn for project success -- or get wrong otherwise -- are about working in teams. The methods that have made the biggest improvements in development success rates are not tools or technical...

In the DSL Tools Customization Samples & Guide there's some examples that use MDF rules to spot a change and react to it. (1) In the class diagram sample, attributes are displayed as a string like "aName : SomeType", and in the properties grid, the...

DSL + Agile workshop I spent most of Monday running a DSL workshop at XP2005 , with Steven Kelly of MetaCase. There were 22 participants including ourselves, and people said it was an enjoyable and useful day. Results posted at http://www.dsmforum...

One of the features of the DSL Tools is extensibility. With the language definition files, you can define a wide range of thing-and-link style graphical notations. The current version of the Tools comes with a set of templates for creating class, use...

Susan says : 1. Composing languages: a DSL can also be categorized based on whether it an encapsulated DSL that represents an application domain (e.g. finance, medical, etc) or an aspectual DSL that represents a concern that cuts across the application...

There's now a DSL Tools FAQ , which I've pulled together from the multifariouse Q&A on the DSL Tools Forum over the past few months. Thanks to all the questioners and answerers.

Interesting progress - there's an independent company offering courses on DSLs, including DSL Tools as an exemplar. http://www.clipcode.biz/workshops/Clipcode_DSL_Workshop_Data_Sheet.pdf

The DSL Tools are extensible - as well as writing a specification of your own language, you can add your own code to extend the language and its tools in various ways. One of the best ways to learn the extensions is by reading the DSL Samples . They include...

JAOO in Aarhus, Denmark, is getting big - almost 900 participants, I heard. There was a Domain Specific Languages track on Wednesday - DSLs is really gathering steam! The day kicked off with an excellent plenary on Software Factories and DSLs by Microsoft...

The Models/UML conference has posted its call for papers http://www.modelsconference.org/ . Steve, Stuart and I take it in turns on the programme committee for this. (Stuart was Programme Chair last year.) "The MoDELS series of conferences are devoted...

Interesting post and comments on Harry Pierson's blog: http://devhawk.net/2005/10/05/Code+Is+Model.aspx

The Models Conference is in Genova, Italy this year (October 1-6). If you have developed some interesting stuff in DSL Tools, this is the place to share it and get useful feedback. If you're wondering about the best ways of using models to drive software...

The keynote talk at the UML conference a couple of days ago was by Krzysztof Czarnecki , on Generative Programming (title of his book with Ulrich Eisenecker , from 2000). Generative Programming is about using Domain-Specific Languages --- from simple...

Grady Booch writes : Will's blog had a number of errors of fact, Ouch! Well, permit me to unruffle my feathers a bit. It's more a difference of emphasis. But let's start at the top. GB> I'm disappointed that Microsoft choose the term "software factory...

I've joined MSF - the Microsoft Solutions Framework . MSF is about providing process "guidance". Software development processes are about who does what and in what order - role X writes a spec or a story, role Y writes the software, role Z tests it...

At the excellent SPA conference ( www.spa2005.org ) John Daniels led a workshop session " A Taxonomy of Models". Defining “model” as including any kind of language, he made a table of how models are used; or rather, he wrote the outer headings and...

At OT2004 , I ran a workshop on domain specific languages. OT is where the UK experts in software development gather each year, and so the people attending a workshop generally know more than whoever is running it. It's a great way to get some good ideas...

In my previous job, I used to go around showing people some rather neat techniques for doing requirements analysis (and in particular the Catalysis method I created with Desmond D'Souza). One of the big frustrations was that we didn't have any tools to...

This is an example of a Ladder Diagram from the IEC1131 standard: I find this fascinating! As a computer programmer, it would never have occurred to me to represent logic expressions in this way. But to electrical engineers used to laying out circuits...

RobR > Tools built on the type of meta-technology you talk about are not new. Agreed! Of course, I'm working at Microsoft rather than at a university, so utter novelty is not a claim. In fact, we hope to use the best ideas and experience that have...

RobR > I think for many language definition purposes, UML stereotypes are in fact much more useful than you think.I think for many language definition purposes, UML stereotypes are in fact much more useful than you think. My feeling is that it's not...