Language-based software engineering

Abstract

Techniques for developing reliable, error free (and these days also secure) software have been a subject of research for a long time. A number of software engineering frameworks have been proposed, from the waterfall model [1] to aspect oriented frameworks [2]. In this short paper we present a language-based framework for software engineering [13]. In the language-based software engineering framework domain experts are the application developers. They program their applications in high level domain specific languages (DSLs). This approach, based on using high level DSLs, results in more robust, reliable and secure software.The task of developing a program to solve a specific problem involves two steps. The first step is to devise a solution procedure to solve the problem. This step requires a domain expert to use his/her domain knowledge, expertise, creativity and mental acumen to devise a solution to the problem. The second step is to code the solution in some executable notation (such as a computer programming language) to obtain a program that can then be run on a computer to solve the problem. In the second step the user is required to map the steps of the solution procedure to constructs of the programming language being used for coding. Both steps are cognitively challenging and require considerable amount of thinking and mental activity. The more we can reduce the amount of mental activity involved in both steps (e.g., via automation), the more reliable the process of software construction will be. Not much can be done about the first step as far as reducing the amount of mental activity is involved, however, a lot can be done for the second step. The amount of mental effort the programmer has to put in the second step depends on the "semantic" gap between the level of abstraction at which the solution procedure has been conceived and the various constructs of the programming language being used. Domain experts usually think at a very high level of abstraction while designing the solution procedures. As a result, the more low-level the programming language, the wider the semantic gap, and the harder the user's task. In contrast, if we had a language that was right at the level of abstraction at which the user thinks, the task of constructing the program would be much easier. A domain specific language indeed makes this possible.Note that for any kind of communication (including between programmers/users and the computer) the notation used for the communication determines how effectively and efficiently that communication can be understood/processed. A new, complex notation may take longer time to learn, but if the notation is carefully designed for the task/domain, then it allows far more complex things to be expressed and understood considerably more easily. It also encourages creativity, since people now have to simply focus on what to say, rather than on how to say it. This in turn affects productivity of the people (and machines) involved. A prime example of this is the position-based decimal notation...

Domain‐specific language for automatic generation of UML models

“…Every DSL is defined by syntactic and semantic rules, which makes user training sessions an essential activity. As a result of our tests, we realised that we can mitigate productivity losses resulting from the use of an unfamiliar language by training users in the use of the tools [3, 16]. We learned that DSL designers must clearly understand the DSL's purpose and how its potential users work.…”

“…DSLs also permit solutions in the application domain level, enabling the analysts to understand, validate, modify and develop features utilising the defined language. Domain specialists and software engineers are already familiar with the formality of programming languages, which reduces the time for learning the DSL and optimises resource utilisation [3, 15, 16].…”

Macroprogramming: Concepts, State of the Art, and Opportunities of Macroscopic Behaviour Modelling

“…The focus is on the programming perspective, rather than e.g. modelling formalisms for analysis and prediction; namely, the contribution can be framed in language-based software engineering (Gupta, 2015). To better structure the investigation, we focus on the following research questions, inspired by the "six honest serving men" (Kipling, 1902) as e.g., in (Flood, 1994).…”

“…Models have to be expressed in some language (also called a meta-model). Languages exist for specification, design, implementation, and verification of software, and contribute to a vision of language-based software engineering (Gupta, 2015), which promotes the use of high-level DSLs for building software. Related notions such as goal-oriented (Renesse, 1998) or declarative programming (Lloyd, 1994a;Baldoni et al, 2010) are used to denote a similar idea: the use of languages to express an abstract model of a system emphasising what has to be achieved rather than how.…”

One DSL to Rule Them All: IDE-Assisted Code Generation for Agile Data Analysis

“…Domain Speci c Languages (DSLs) [12], [24], [9], have proven useful in a multitude of medium to large-scale projects by introducing highly readable and concise code with support for higher-level operations. While the underlying "theory" and scienti c interest is still modest [24], [11], [18], DSLs are becoming increasingly popular in industry (for example, the industrial-grade database management system SAP HANA uses internally over 200 DSLs).…”