We show the appli cability of the proposed family of languages in a real project in the domain of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles. May 31, 2010 the popular scripting language groovy can be used to create a domain specific language that can run directly on the jvm alongside regular java code. Domain models are a prerequisite for domainspecific language development and are often implemented in software and data integration and software modernization projects, which constitute the. This comprehensive tutorial will take you through the design and development of groovybased domain specific languages. By the end of this book, you should be able to make an internal dsl. In this paper, we describe a domain specific language based on an eventaction model using which new local web cache policies and intercache protocols can be easily specified. But weve been using specialpurpose languagesknown as domainspecific languages aka dslsfor a long time. One of the first detailed publications on domain specific languages was published by jon bentley in 1986. Nov 19, 2015 the basic idea of a domain specific language dsl is a computer language thats targeted to a particular kind of problem, rather than a general purpose language thats aimed at any kind of software problem. As a result, researchers and practitioners in recent years have developed many di. From text differencing to adapting models at runtime. Design guidelines for domain specific languages arxiv.
Domain specific languages are easier to learn, given their limited scope. For a list of some popular dsl s that you may have heard of, look at table 2. Many computer languages are domainspecific rather than general purpose. Domainspecific languages isbn 9780321712943 pdf epub. For example, tex is a language used for typesetting, sql is used to query databases, and mathematica is used for computations. In domain specific languages, noted software development expert martin fowler first provides the information software professionals need to decide if and when to utilize dsls.
May 29, 2016 a domain specific language dsl is a language which is created to serve well in a limited context. An exampleoriented approach to develop custom domainspecific languages. Feb 19, 2008 alex ruiz and jeff bay describe how it is possible to write domain specific languages using the java language and suggests some patterns for constructing them. Domainspecific language article about domainspecific. You could be familiar with the typical programming languages a. This page discusses domain specific languages, providing categories and information about how dsls are engineered or life after parsing. Full control of the constructs in the language give the creator of the dsl the freedom to simplify that language as much as possible. Domain specific languages can be used to enhance software productivity and reliability in various areas such as graphics, finance, robot control, and so on. The java virtual machine runs on everything from the largest mainframe to the smallest microchip and supports every conceivable application. Existing tool support focuses on the simplification of technical aspects but lacks support for an enforcement of principles for a good language design. To represent data or express a problem more cleanly then an existing and perhaps more general method of representation, for example, xml.
A domainspecific language dsl is a program ming language or executable specification language that offers, through. That means from day one, you could use it, with no dependencies, to write languages in. Domain specific languages are languages created to support a particular set of tasks, as they are performed in a specific domain. Pdf when and how to develop domainspecific languages. Domainspecific languages dsls are languages tailored to a specific application domain. In this paper we apply modularity concepts for domain specific languages dsls and. Clojure for domainspecific languages ebook packt ebooks. The topics covered by the papers represent the diversity of applications, challenges, and methods of domain specific languages. Sep 23, 2010 domain specific languages dsls are small languages that programmers use to express concepts in a very specific domain. Domain specific languages have been talked about, and used for almost as long as computing has been done. This drawback motivates the need for a framework for building new web caches tailored to specific environments.
Dsl development is hard, requiring both domain knowledge and language development expertise. With an appropriate dsl, one can develop complete application programs for a do. Miller jun han maria hybinette department of computer science university of georgia athens, ga, 30602, usa abstract progress in programming paradigms and languages has over time in. An approach to internal domainspecific languages in java. The chapters are like tutorials that describe the main concepts of xtext such as grammar definition, validation, code generation, customizations, and many more, through. Evolving an embedded domainspecific language in java. Pdf implementing domainspecific languages with xtext. Any of various technologies used to create highbandwidth network connections over standard telephone lines, often in providing internet service to. Based on the features of the problem domain they improve the communication between developers and domain experts. Domain specific language how is domain specific language. It is not enough to build just an editor for the language, various specific services need to be provided as well. Because a domain specific language has well defined abstractions and notations, it is more concise and readable.
The design of a good domain specific language requires even more knowledge than the standard software development using general purpose languages, because a dsl. A family of domainspecific languages for specifying civilian. Domain specific languages presentation to njug3 on 22 july 2007 slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The advantages gained from the use of domain specific languages in software architecture stand and fall with the appropriateness and acceptance of these languages. Embedded dsls take advantage of a host languages parsing and execution framework, but adjust the semantics to make them more suitable for a specific task. In this paper, we describe our approach how to develop new domain specific languages for the mentioned field and their support. They typically are far less powerful that generic programming languages but communicate their intent far better. It is a very specific tool to solve a set of problems and only that set. Quoted domainspecific languages the university of edinburgh. Dec 18, 20 clojure for domain specific languages is an exampleoriented guide to building custom languages. Domainspecific languages addisonwesley signature series.
Data about program elements, such as classes and methods, which can be processed during compilation or execution. Arrange blocks of code in a data structure to implement an alternative computational model. Proceedings of the 9th oopsla workshop on domainspecific modeling dsm 09. More recently, authors have also discussed the design of domain speci. A domainspecific language dsl is a computer language specialized to a particular application domain. When carefully selected and used, domainspecific languages dsls may simplify complex code, promote effective communication with customers, improve productivity, and unclog development bottlenecks. As programmers, the idea of languageoriented programming may be new. In domainspecific languages, noted software development expert martin fowler first provides the information software professionals need to decide if and when to utilize dsls. They offer substantial gains in expressiveness and ease of use compared with generalpurpose programming languages in their domain of application. Domainspecific language definition of domainspecific. Modular development of textual domain specific languages arxiv. A domain specific language dsl is more fine tuned to the application environment than a generalpurpose programming language. As you can see, the list covers quite a lot of ground. Keywords domainspecific language, dsl, edsl, qdsl, em bedded language, quotation, normalisation, subformula principle.
They are tools good enough to create all sort of programs. An external dsl is a language thats parsed independently of the host general purpose language. Sep 08, 2014 designing a new domain specific language is as any other complex task sometimes errorprone and usually time consuming, especially if the language shall be of highquality and comfortably usable. Then, where dsls prove suitable, fowler presents effective techniques for building them, and guides software engineers in choosing the right approaches for their. Domain specific languages are adjusted to a particular domain and provide notations close to it 1. But java is a complex and sometimes arcane language to develop with. The combination of first class environments, lexical scoping, nonstandard evaluation, and metaprogramming gives us a powerful toolkit for creating embedded domain specific languages dsls in r. Domain specific languages dsls have been around since ive been in computing, but its hard to. Domain specific language synonyms, domain specific language pronunciation, domain specific language translation, english dictionary definition of domain specific language. It shows how dsls are key to enabling and extremely effective class of program generation technology based on program transformation, tracing the origins back to a 1970s tool called draco. A domain specific language dsl is a specialized programming language that is used for a single. When and how to develop domainspecific languages citeseerx. If youve already developed a few clojure applications and wish to expand your knowledge on clojure or domainspecific languages in general, then this book is for you. Table 1 is a partial list of domains for which dsl s have been created.
Many of the core components of clojure are covered to help you understand your options when making a domain specific language. Martin fowler defines a domainspecific language dsl as a computer language thats targeted to a particular kind of problem, rather than a general purpose lan. I would like some practical guidance on when i should use a domain specific language. Implementing domainspecific languages with xtext and xtend will teach you how to develop a dsl with xtext, an eclipse framework for implementing domainspecific languages. Domain specific languages for business process management. Domain specific languages can help to shift the development of business information systems from traditional software developers to the typically larger group of domain experts who despite having less technical expertise have a deeper knowledge of the domain. The papers are organized in topical sections on semantics, methods and tools, and case studies. Designing a new domain specific language is as any other complex task sometimes errorprone and usually time con suming, especially if the language shall be. Domain specific languages dsls are claimed to increment pro ductivity, while reducing the required maintenance and program ming expertise. Code generation for example is not generally feasible when the language embeds concepts of underspeci. I have found resources about advantages and disadvantages, but what kind of project would warrant its use. Domainspecific languages dsls have emerged as a tool for tackling the complexity of software development projects. Lisps have traditionally been great at writing languages in.
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