Authors:
Christoph Rieger
;
Martin Westerkamp
and
Herbert Kuchen
Affiliation:
University of Münster, Germany
Keyword(s):
Domain-Specific Language, Modularization, Xtext, Language Composition.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Domain-Specific Modeling and Domain-Specific Languages
;
Languages, Tools and Architectures
;
Model-Driven Software Development
;
Software Engineering
;
Syntax and Semantics of Modeling Languages
Abstract:
Over time, domain-specific languages (DSL) tend to grow beyond the initial scope in order to provide new
features. In addition, many fundamental language concepts are reimplemented over and over again. This
raises questions regarding opportunities of DSL modularization for improving software quality and fostering
language reuse – similar to challenges traditional programming languages face but further complicated by
the surrounding editing infrastructure and model transformations. Mature frameworks for developing textual
DSLs such as Xtext provide a wealth of features but have only recently considered support for language composition.
We therefore perform a case study on a large-scale DSL for model-driven development of mobile
applications called MD2, and review the current state of DSL composition techniques. Subsequently, challenges
and advantages of modularizing MD2 are discussed and generalized recommendations are provided.