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Domain specific language implementation via compile-time meta-programming

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Laurence TrattAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (TOPLAS), Volume 30, Issue 6

Article No.: 31, Pages 1 - 40

https://doi.org/10.1145/1391956.1391958

Published: 30 October 2008 Publication History

Abstract

Domain specific languages (DSLs) are mini-languages that are increasingly seen as being a valuable tool for software developers and non-developers alike. DSLs must currently be created in an ad-hoc fashion, often leading to high development costs and implementations of variable quality. In this article, I show how expressive DSLs can be hygienically embedded in the Converge programming language using its compile-time meta-programming facility, the concept of DSL blocks, and specialised error reporting techniques. By making use of pre-existing facilities, and following a simple methodology, DSL implementation costs can be significantly reduced whilst leading to higher quality DSL implementations.

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Cited By

Cazzola WFavalli L(2024)Software modernization powered by dynamic language product linesJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2024.112188218(112188)Online publication date: Dec-2024
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Frölich Dvan Binsbergen L(2024) i C o L a +Journal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2024.111979211:COnline publication date: 2-Jul-2024
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Bertolotti FCazzola WFavalli L(2023)On the granularity of linguistic reuseJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2023.111704202(111704)Online publication date: Aug-2023
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Index Terms

Domain specific language implementation via compile-time meta-programming
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software notations and tools
    1. Compilers
      1. Translator writing systems and compiler generators

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems

ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems Volume 30, Issue 6

October 2008

245 pages

ISSN:0164-0925

EISSN:1558-4593

DOI:10.1145/1391956

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2008 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Publication History

Published: 30 October 2008

Accepted: 01 January 2008

Revised: 01 January 2007

Received: 01 February 2006

Published in TOPLAS Volume 30, Issue 6

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.jss.2024.111979
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Cazzola WFavalli L(2023)The language mutation problem: Leveraging language product lines for mutation testing of interpretersJournal of Systems and Software10.1016/j.jss.2022.111533195(111533)Online publication date: Jan-2023
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