An Integrated View on Modeling with Multiple Domain-Specific Languages.

The use of domain-specific languages (DSLs) has been shown to raise the level of abstraction, increase produc-tivity and ease maintenance and evolution in software de-velopment. Development of and tooling for a single DSL is well-studied, but surprisingly little is known about the interplay of different DSLs in a single system. Multiple DSLs are required when moving from toy examples to real enterprise applications. Method and tool support is needed if multiple DSL development is to succeed. In this paper, we propose a novel method for development with multiple DSLs which fills this gap. The method specifically tack-les the problem of overlapping concerns between different DSLs. It has three steps: 1) Identification, 2) Specification, and 3) Application. We explain these steps using a suite of prototype tools and documented case studies.

Interfaces and Metainterfaces for Models and Metamodels

Abstract. Evolution and customization of component-based systems require an explicit understanding of component inter-dependencies. Im-plicit assumptions, poor documentation and hidden dependencies turn even simple changes into challenges. The problem is exacerbated in XML-intensive projects due to the use of soft references and the lack of infor-mation hiding. We address this with dependency tracking interface types for models and metamodels. We provide automatic compatibility checks and a heuristic inference procedure for our interfaces, which allows easy and incremental adoption of our technique even in mature projects. We have implemented a prototype and applied it to two large cases: an en-terprise resource planning system and a healthcare information system.