Automated Transformation of Statements within Evolving Domain Specific Languages

Peter Bell. Automated Transformation of Statements within Evolving Domain Specific Languages. In Proceedings of the 7th OOPSLA Workshop on Domain-Specific Modeling (DSM’07). Computer Science and Information System Reports, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, 2007.

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges in Domain Specific Modeling is handling the inevitable changes to Domain Specific Language grammars (meta models) as they evolve over time. This paper starts by providing an overview of our use case - a high volume Software Product Line using a databased concrete syntax for storing large numbers of statements in a collection of external Domain Specific Languages. It then outlines research in related fields - from API versioning to database migrations - that could be applied to the problem of automating the transformation of statements between versions of a Domain Specific Language. It then presents an initial partial catalog of potential transformations that could be used to automate the process of transforming DSL statements at a tooling level, making it much easier for modelers to support evolutions in their DSL grammars.