Presentation: Textual DSLs Made Simple

by Abel Avram on Jan 21, 2009 | NOTICE: The next QCon is in New York Jun 10-14, Join us!

In this presentation filmed during QCon London 2008, Markus Voelter tried to convince the audience that writing a textual external DSL is fairly straightforward and simple. He took them through the steps needed to create a textual DSL from defining the grammar to processing a domain model.

Watch: Textual DSLs Made Simple (1 hour).

Markus started his presentation with an introduction to DSLs, what they are, how they can be categorized and pointing to the strengths and weaknesses of each category. His demonstration focused on a textual external DSL built using the Eclipse Modeling Framework.

After the introduction, Markus showed how to define a grammar for the DSL using the EBNF format in an Xtext editor which provides code completion and constraints checking for the grammar. He also showed how to customize the grammar editor in order to provide constraints checking, syntax highlighting, code completion, debugging and others. Markus presentation ends with a domain model being created and processed.

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Community comments

problem with the video by Kacem Boufelliga Posted

Re: problem with the video by Floyd Marinescu Posted

Alternatives by Tjerk Wolterink Posted

Java Community by wladimir braguini Posted

Re: Java Community by Abel Avram Posted

slides?? by Gregory Guthrie Posted

problem with the video by Kacem Boufelliga

the video stops after 15 mins

Alternatives by Tjerk Wolterink

Just a note to the reader: An alternative is TCS, it allows Text2Model and Model2Text transormations and also generates an editor (complete with syntax highlighting and an outline).
Link: wiki.eclipse.org/index.php/TCS

Maybe TCS is a bit less mature but it works for me. I am using it for my Master Project @ University of Twente.
I am creating a language wich can be used to specify the semantics of your language based on Structural Operational Semantics (SOS, by Plotkin), with this semantic-description you can simulate your language.

Re: problem with the video by Floyd Marinescu

the video stops after 15 mins

Hi Kacem, can you manually forward the video to the 16 min mark? We have not had any other complaints and this issue does not appear to be reproducible on our side.

Java Community by wladimir braguini

Using Java tools and Java samples shouldn't this presentation be in the Java community also?

Re: Java Community by Abel Avram

Wladimir, the presentation was inadvertently marked for .NET instead Java. Fixed. Thanks for noticing.

slides?? by Gregory Guthrie

Since the video is mostly a talking head, are the View-graphs or slides available online?
And he references his paper on the topic, available?