Correctly defined concrete syntax

The syntax of modeling languages is usually defined in two steps. The abstract syntax identifies modeling concepts whereas the concrete syntax clarifies how these modeling concepts are rendered by visual extual elements. While the abstract syntax is often defined in form of a metamodel there is no such standard format yet for concrete syntax definitions; at least as long as the concrete syntax is not purely text-based and classical grammar-based approaches are not applicable. In a previous paper, we proposed to extend the metamodeling approach also to concrete syntax definitions. In this paper, we present an analysis technique for our concrete syntax definitions that detects inconsistencies the abstract and the concrete syntax of a modeling language. We have implemented our approach on top of the automatic decision procedure Simplify.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: SOSYM
• Authors: Thomas Baar
• Keywords: Abstract Syntax, Concrete Syntax, Concrete Syntax Definitions, SOSYM 2008