Design Languages: A Necessary New Generation of Computer Languages

Abstract

With the increased demand for so-called “smart” systems, which are required to interact with the physical world in ever more complex ways, we are witnessing a corresponding growth in the complexity of the software that is at the core of such systems. Keeping pace with this rise in complexity is proving to be a challenge for current mainstream programming technologies, whose origins are typically rooted in increasingly outdated computing paradigms that can be traced to some of the earliest applications of computers (e.g., solving numerical problems). This paper first examines some of the salient shortcomings of current mainstream programming technologies; shortcomings that render them unsuitable for addressing modern software applications. This is followed by a discussion of emerging and necessary trends in computer language development, which point to a brand new generation of languages, called design languages. The primary technical requirements for these new languages are identified, and certain pragmatic and socio-economic issues associated with their introduction into industrial practice are reviewed. The paper concludes with a high-level summary of crucial research topics required to realize the full potential of these languages.