Methodology to develop domain specific modeling languages

Abstract

Domain Specific Modeling Languages (DSML) significantly improve productivity in designing Computer Based System (CBS), by enabling them to be modeled at higher levels of abstraction. It is common for large and complex systems with distributed teams, to use DSMLs, to express and communicate designs of such systems uniformly, using a common language. DSMLs enable domain experts, with no or minimal software development background, to model solutions, using the language and terminologies used in their respective domains. Although, there are already a number of DSMLs available for modeling CBSs, their need is felt strongly across multiple domains, which still are not well supported with DSMLs. Developing a new DSML, however, is non trivial, as it requires (a) significant knowledge about the domain for which the DSML needs to be developed, as well as (b) skills to create new languages. In the current practice, DSMLs are developed by experts, who have substantial understanding of the domain of interest and strong background in computer science. One of the many challenges in the development of DSMLs, is the collection of domain knowledge and its utilization, based on which the abstract syntax, the backbone of the DSML is defined. There is a clear gap in the current state of art and practice, with respect to overcoming this challenge. We propose a methodology, which makes it easier for people with different backgrounds such as domain experts, solution architects, to contribute towards defining the abstract syntax of the DSML. The methodology outlines a set of steps to systematically capture knowledge about the domain of interest, and use that to arrive at the abstract syntax of the DSML. The key contribution of our work is in abstracting a CBS from a domain into a Domain Specific Machine, embodied in domain specific concepts. The methodology outlines, how the Domain Specific Machine, when coupled with guidelines from current practices of developing DSMLs, results in the definition of the abstract syntax of the intended DSML. We discuss our methodology in detail, in this paper.