Gaining Industrial Confidence for the Introduction of Domain-Specific Languages

Arjan J. Mooij, Jozef Hooman, and Rob Albers

Appeared in: Proceedings 37th Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Workshop on Industrial Experience in Embedded Systems Design (IEESD 2013), IEEE Computer Society, pages 662-667, 2013.

ABSTRACT

Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) receive attention as the possible next abstraction step in programming. Despite the benefits of using DSLs, in the industry there is also some reluctance against their introduction in product development. We address a number of issues that are important to gain industrial confidence for the introduction of DSLs. These include the available tools, the quality of generated code, and the incorporation in the industrial workflow. Our observations are based on an industrial study project at Philips Healthcare, especially concerning the development of a DSL for collision prevention. We also relate our experiences to the literature.