Domain-Specific Languages

When carefully selected and used, Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) may simplify complex code, promote effective communication with customers, improve productivity, and unclog development bottlenecks. In Domain-Specific Languages, noted software development expert Martin Fowler first provides the information software professionals need to decide if and when to utilise DSLs. Then, where DSLs prove suitable, Fowler presents effective techniques for building them, and guides software engineers in choosing the right approaches for their applications. This book’s techniques may be utilised with most modern object-oriented languages; the author provides numerous examples in Java and C#, as well as selected examples in Ruby. Wherever possible, chapters are organised to be self-standing, and most reference topics are presented in a familiar patterns format.

Armed with this wide-ranging book, developers will have the knowledge they need to make important decisions about DSLs-and, where appropriate, gain the significant technical and business benefits they offer.

The topics covered include:

How DSLs compare to frameworks and libraries, and when those alternatives are sufficient
Using parsers and parser generators, and parsing external DSLs
Understanding, comparing, and choosing DSL language constructs
Determining whether to use code generation, and comparing code generation strategies
Previewing new language workbench tools for creating DSLs