Injecting Language Workbench Technology into Mainstream Languages

Abstract

Eelco Visser envisioned a future where DSLs become a commonplace abstraction in software development. He took strides towards implementing this vision with the Spoofax language workbench. However, his vision is far from the mainstream of programming today. How will the many mainstream programmers encounter and adopt language workbench technology? We propose that the macro systems found in emerging industrial languages open a path towards delivering language workbenches as easy-to-adopt libraries. To develop the idea, we sketch an implementation of a language workbench as a macro-library atop Racket and identify the key features of the macro system needed to enable this evolution path