The State of the Art in Language Workbenches. Conclusions from the Language Workbench Challenge

Language workbenches are tools that provide high-level mechanisms for the implementation of (domain-specific) languages. Language workbenches are an active area of research that also receives many contributions from industry. To compare and discuss existing language workbenches, the annual Language Workbench Challenge was launched in 2011. Each year, participants are challenged to realize a given domain-specific language with their workbenches as a basis for discussion and comparison. In this paper, we describe the state of the art of language workbenches as observed in the previous editions of the Language Workbench Challenge. In particular, we capture the design space of language workbenches in a feature model and show where in this design space the participants of the 2013 Language Workbench Challenge reside. We compare these workbenches based on a DSL for questionnaires that was realized in all workbenches

Open Programming Language Interpreters

Context: This paper presents the concept of open programming language interpreters and the implementation of a framework-level metaobject protocol (MOP) to support them. Inquiry: We address the problem of dynamic interpreter adaptation to tailor the interpreter's behavior on the task to be solved and to introduce new features to fulfill unforeseen requirements. Many languages provide a MOP that to some degree supports reflection. However, MOPs are typically language-specific, their reflective functionality is often restricted, and the adaptation and application logic are often mixed which hardens the understanding and maintenance of the source code. Our system overcomes these limitations. Approach: We designed and implemented a system to support open programming language interpreters. The prototype implementation is integrated in the Neverlang framework. The system exposes the structure, behavior and the runtime state of any Neverlang-based interpreter with the ability to modify it. Knowledge: Our system provides a complete control over interpreter's structure, behavior and its runtime state. The approach is applicable to every Neverlang-based interpreter. Adaptation code can potentially be reused across different language implementations. Grounding: Having a prototype implementation we focused on feasibility evaluation. The paper shows that our approach well addresses problems commonly found in the research literature. We have a demonstrative video and examples that illustrate our approach on dynamic software adaptation, aspect-oriented programming, debugging and context-aware interpreters. Importance: To our knowledge, our paper presents the first reflective approach targeting a general framework for language development. Our system provides full reflective support for free to any Neverlang-based interpreter. We are not aware of any prior application of open implementations to programming language interpreters in the sense defined in this paper. Rather than substituting other approaches, we believe our system can be used as a complementary technique in situations where other approaches present serious limitations

ClaferMPS: Modeling and Optimizing Automotive Electric/Electronic Architectures Using Domain-Specific Languages

Modern automotive electric/electronic (E/E) architectures are growing to the point where architects can no longer manually predict the effects of their design decisions. Thus, in addition to applying an architecture reference model to decompose their architectures, they also require tools for synthesizing and evaluating candidate architectures during the design process. Clafer is a modeling language, which has been used to model variable multi-layer, multi-perspective automotive system architectures according to an architecture reference model. Clafer tools allow architects to synthesize optimal candidates and evaluate effects of their design decisions. However, since Clafer is a general-purpose structural modeling language, it does not help the architects in building models conforming to the given architecture reference model. In this work, we present ClaferMPS, a set of extensible languages and IDE for modeling E/E architectures using Clafer. First, we present an E/E architecture domain-specific language (DSL) built on top of Clafer, which embodies the reference model and which guides the architects in correctly applying the reference model. We then evaluate the DSL and its implementation by modeling two existing automotive systems, which were originally modeled in plain Clafer. The evaluation showed that by using the DSL, an evaluator obtained correct models by construction because the DSL helped prevent typical errors that are easy to make in plain Clafer. The evaluator was also able to synthesize and evaluate candidate architectures as with plain Clafer. Finally, we demonstrate extensibility capabilities of ClaferMPS. Our implementation is built on top of the JetBrains Meta Programming System, which supports language modularization and composition, multi-stage transformations and projectional editing. As a result, ClaferMPS allows third parties to seamlessly add extensions to both Clafer and the E/E architecture DSL without invasive changes. To illustrate this approach, we consider the Robot Operating System (ROS) communications infrastructure, a case study, which is outside the scope of the existing reference model. We show how the E/E architecture DSL can be adapted to the new domain using MPS language modularization and composition

MITK-ModelFit: A generic open-source framework for model fits and their exploration in medical imaging -- design, implementation and application on the example of DCE-MRI

Many medical imaging techniques utilize fitting approaches for quantitative parameter estimation and analysis. Common examples are pharmacokinetic modeling in DCE MRI/CT, ADC calculations and IVIM modeling in diffusion-weighted MRI and Z-spectra analysis in chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI. Most available software tools are limited to a special purpose and do not allow for own developments and extensions. Furthermore, they are mostly designed as stand-alone solutions using external frameworks and thus cannot be easily incorporated natively in the analysis workflow. We present a framework for medical image fitting tasks that is included in MITK, following a rigorous open-source, well-integrated and operating system independent policy. Software engineering-wise, the local models, the fitting infrastructure and the results representation are abstracted and thus can be easily adapted to any model fitting task on image data, independent of image modality or model. Several ready-to-use libraries for model fitting and use-cases, including fit evaluation and visualization, were implemented. Their embedding into MITK allows for easy data loading, pre- and post-processing and thus a natural inclusion of model fitting into an overarching workflow. As an example, we present a comprehensive set of plug-ins for the analysis of DCE MRI data, which we validated on existing and novel digital phantoms, yielding competitive deviations between fit and ground truth. Providing a very flexible environment, our software mainly addresses developers of medical imaging software that includes model fitting algorithms and tools. Additionally, the framework is of high interest to users in the domain of perfusion MRI, as it offers feature-rich, freely available, validated tools to perform pharmacokinetic analysis on DCE MRI data, with both interactive and automatized batch processing workflows.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures URL: http://mitk.org/wiki/MITK-ModelFi

Development of a system for example-driven software language engineering

Masteroppgave i informatikkINF399MAMN-PROGMAMN-IN

Gentleman : a lightweight web-based projectional editor

Lors de la conception et la manipulation de logiciel par modélisation, il est avantageux de bénéficier d’un grand degré de liberté au niveau de la présentation afin de comprendre l’information et prendre une action en exerçant peu d’effort cognitif et physique. Cette caractéristique doit aussi s’étendre aux outils que nous employons afin que ceux-ci augmentent nos capacités, plutôt que les restreindre. En génie logiciel, nous travaillons présentement à rehausser encore le niveau d’abstraction afin de réduire le rôle central du code décrit avec un langage de programmation à usage général. Ceci permettrait d’inclure les experts non techniques dans les activités de développement de logiciel. Cette approche, centralisée sur le domaine et l’expert, s’inscrit dans l’ingénierie dirigée par les modèles (IDM), où un modèle est produit et manipulé par divers experts et utilisateurs. Le modèle est alors décrit avec un langage créé spécifiquement pour un domaine d’application ou une tache, appelé langage dédié (DSL). Une technique utilisée pour créer ces modèles et leurs DSL est le projectional editing, qui permet d’utiliser des notations diverses interchangeables et d’étendre et composer facilement un langage. Toutefois, les solutions actuelles sont lourdes, spécifiques à une plateforme, et manquent considérablement d’utilisabilité, limitant ainsi l’usage et l’exploitation de cette approche. Pour mieux refléter les avantages du paradigme IDM avec le style projectionnel, nous introduisons dans cette thèse Gentleman, un éditeur projectionnel léger sur le web. Avec Gentleman, le développeur crée un modèle en combinant des concepts utilisés pour définir la structure du modèle et des projections pour les manipuler dans l’éditeur. Nous avons évalué Gentleman à travers une étude basée sur un groupe d’utilisateur. L’étude a confirmé sa capacité à créer et manipuler des modèles efficacement. Les participants ont noté qu’il est facile de prendre en main Gentleman et que l’interface est très intuitive comparativement aux éditeurs existants. Nous avons aussi intégré Gentleman avec succès à une plateforme web, démontrant ainsi ses capacités d’interopérabilité et l’avantage d’une solution web.In software activities and, more specifically, when modeling, the modeler should benefit from as much freedom as possible to understand the presented information and take action with minimal cognitive and mechanical effort. This characteristic should also apply to the tools used in the process so that they extend our capabilities rather than limit them. In the field of software engineering, current work aims to push the level of abstraction past general-purpose programming language into domain-specific modeling. This enables domain experts with various backgrounds to participate in software development activities. This vision is central to model-driven engineering (MDE) where, instead of code, various experts and users produce and manipulate domain-specific language (DSL). In recent years, projectional editing has proven to be a valid approach to creating and manipulating DSLs, as it supports various easily interchangeable notations and enables language extension and composition. However, current solutions are heavyweight, platform-specific, and suffer from poor usability. To better support this paradigm and minimize the risk of accidental complexity in terms of expressiveness, in this thesis, we introduce Gentleman, a lightweight web-based projectional editor. With Gentleman, a developer creates a model by combining concepts used to define its structure and projections to interact and manipulate them in the editor. We have evaluated Gentleman through a user study. The evaluation confirmed its capacity to create and manipulate models effectively. Most participants noted that the editor is very user-friendly and intuitive compared to existing editors. We have also successfully integrated Gentleman into a web application, demonstrating its interoperability and the benefit of a web solution

A declarative approach to heterogeneous multi-mode modelling languages

This paper proposes a declarative approach to multi-mode heterogeneous DSLs based on term rewriting. The paper presents a data model and algorithm for processing syntax structures. It has been validated by an implementation that supports a range of languages. The paper includes an example language that supports both game construction and execution

Towards Multilingual Programming Environments

Software projects consist of different kinds of artifacts: build files, configuration files, markup files, source code in different software languages, and so on. At the same time, however, most integrated development environments (IDEs) are focused on a single (programming) language. Even if a programming environment supports multiple languages (e.g., Eclipse), IDE features such as cross-referencing, refactoring, or debugging, do not often cross language boundaries. What would it mean for programming environment to be truly multilingual? In this short paper we sketch a vision of a system that integrates IDE support across language boundaries. We propose to build this system on a foundation of unified source code models and metaprogramming. Nevertheless, a number of important and hard research questions still need to be addressed