Intentional software

Abstract

Wysiwyg editors simplified document creation by separating the document contents from the looks and by automating the reapplication of the looks to changing contents. In the same way Intentional Software simplifies software creation by separating the software contents in terms of their various domains from the implementation of the software and by enabling automatic regeneration of the software as the contents change. This way, domain experts can work in parallel with programmers in their respective areas of expertise; and the repeated intermingling can be automated. Intentional Software is supported by a Domain Workbench tool where multiple domains can be defined, created, edited, transformed and integrated during software creation. Key features include a uniform representation of multiple interrelated domains, the ability to project the domains in multiple editable notations, and simple access for a program generator. Copyright © 2006 ACM.