A Generative Programming Approach to Developing DSL Compilers

Abstract. Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) represent a proven approach to raising the abstraction level of programming. They offer highlevel constructs and notations dedicated to a domain, structuring program design, easing program writing, masking the intricacies of underlying software layers, and guaranteeing critical properties. On the one hand, DSLs facilitate a straightforward mapping between a conceptual model and a solution expressed in a specific programming language. On the other hand, DSLs complicate the compilation process of the gap in the abstraction level between the source and target language. The nature of DSLs make their compilation very different from the compilation of common General-Purpose Languages (GPLs). In fact, a DSL compiler generally produces code written in a GPL; low-level compilation is left to the compiler of the target GPL. In essence, a DSL compiler defines some mapping of the high-level information and features of a DSL into the target GPL and un...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: GPCE
• Authors: Charles Consel, Fabien Latry, Laurent Réveillère, Pierre Cointe
• Keywords: Abstraction Level, Dsl Compiler, GPCE 2005, Target Gpl