A model-driven approach to generate external DSLs from object-oriented APIs

Abstract

Developers in modern general-purpose programming languages create reusable code libraries by encapsulating them in Applications Programming Interfaces (APIs). Domain-specific languages (DSLs) can be developed as an alternative method for code abstraction and distribution, sometimes preferable to APIs because of their expressivity and tailored development environment. However the cost of implementing a fully functional development environment for a DSL is generally higher. In this paper we propose DSLit, a prototype-tool that, given an existing API, reduces the cost of developing a corresponding DSL by analyzing the API, automatically generating a semantically equivalent DSL with its complete development environment, and allowing for user customization. To build this bridge between the API and DSL technical spaces we make use of existing Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) techniques, further promoting the vision of MDE as a unifying technical space.