Alan Cameron Wills - Domain Specific Languages

Models, domain-specific languages, code generation, ....

my new blog about UML

Since this blog has been all about my old job, I'm going to start a new one: UML and Agile...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 01/31/2009

Writing about UML - my favorite pastime!

In the days long ago before I joined Microsoft, I was an itinerant consultant in UML. I'd wander the...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 01/29/2009

Move to MSF

I've joined MSF - the Microsoft Solutions Framework. MSF is about providing process "guidance"....

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 09/07/2006

Models conference - place to show off your DSLs

The Models Conference is in Genova, Italy this year (October 1-6). If you have developed some...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 02/14/2006

Extending the DSL Tools

The DSL Tools are extensible - as well as writing a specification of your own language, you can add...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 12/20/2005

Models/UML conference

The Models/UML conference has posted its call for papers https://www.modelsconference.org/. Steve,...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 12/20/2005

End-to-end DSL samples available

We've just published an updated set of samples for the DSL Tools. As well as updates to the previous...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 12/13/2005

partial classes

We use partial classes a lot in the DSL Tools. We need them to help compose code that's generated...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/03/2005

Constraints and Restrictions in MS DSL Tools

I do get irritated by over-officious tools. "You can't use that name, you've used it already over...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 10/30/2005

Rules in the DSL Tools

In the DSL Tools Customization Samples & Guide there's some examples that use MDF rules to spot...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 10/26/2005

Code is Model?

Interesting post and comments on Harry Pierson's blog:...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 10/22/2005

Customizing the MS Domain Specific Language Tools

One of the features of the DSL Tools is extensibility. With the language definition files, you can...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 10/21/2005

DSLs at JAOO

JAOO in Aarhus, Denmark, is getting big - almost 900 participants, I heard. There was a Domain...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 09/30/2005

Frequently Asked Questions

There's now a DSL Tools FAQ, which I've pulled together from the multifariouse Q&A on the DSL...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 08/08/2005

Course on DSLs

Interesting progress - there's an independent company offering courses on DSLs, including DSL Tools...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 08/02/2005

XP2005

DSL + Agile workshop I spent most of Monday running a DSL workshop at XP2005, with Steven Kelly of...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 06/21/2005

How to teach software development

Software development is teamwork. The most important techniques you learn for project success -- or...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 06/21/2005

Martin Fowler on DSLs

Martin Fowler has posted an interesting summary of DSLs at...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 06/20/2005

Software factories overview

An overview of what my group in MS does:...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/27/2005

workshop on agility and domain specific languages

Steven Kelly of MetaCase and I are doing a workshop at XP2005 on "Agile Development with Domain...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/23/2005

Adaptive Object Modeling with DSL Tools

Erdem Sahin posted this question to the DSLTools web forum: Does DSL help to build Adaptive Object...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/11/2005

Composing DSLs in our tools

Susan says: 1. Composing languages: a DSL can also be categorized based on whether it an...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/04/2005

SPA Conference

As always, the SPA conference www.spaconference.org was stimulating. Gareth Jones and I ran a...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/27/2005

Model Taxonomy

At the excellent SPA conference (www.spa2005.org) John Daniels led a workshop session "A Taxonomy of...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/24/2005

The Joy of DSLs

Nice post from David Ing:...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/24/2005

Models and Programs

What's the word "Model" useful for? People use it for all sorts of stuff, usually as distinct from...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/19/2005

UML the answer? -- more

Grady Booch writes : Will's blog had a number of errors of fact, Ouch! Well, permit me to unruffle...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 12/21/2004

DSL Tools preview downloadable

Here's what we've been working on for a while:...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 12/20/2004

Many syntaxes for one semantics

This is an example of a Ladder Diagram from the IEC1131 standard:I find this fascinating! As a...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/17/2004

Costs of designing a DSL - UML the answer?

RobR > Tools built on the type of meta-technology you talk about are not new. Agreed! Of course,...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/15/2004

The power of stereotypes

RobR > I think for many language definition purposes, UML stereotypes are in fact much more...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/15/2004

Why not base domain specific languages on UML?

RobR writes:re: DSL tools availableI'd be interested to know how your tools differ from doing the...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/11/2004

DSL tools available

In my previous job, I used to go around showing people some rather neat techniques for doing...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 11/08/2004

Hot topic at UML 2004

The keynote talk at the UML conference a couple of days ago was by Krzysztof Czarnecki, on...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 10/14/2004

Domain specific languages express software refinements

Simon Johnston of IBM has written a note about DSLs (domain specific languages) compared with UML....

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 06/10/2004

General info on DSLS: https://www.program-transformation.org/Transform/DomainSpecificLanguages...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/25/2004

Sorts of language

One thing to think about when inventing your domain specific language: what general sort of syntax...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 05/06/2004

Domain specific article

An article by Steve Cook and me about domain specific languages appears in the excellent online CBDi...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/22/2004

Dispersed Agile Development

At OOPSLA 2001, a panel of the most distinguished methodologists of the day was asked "How would you...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/22/2004

Scaling up agile: software product lines

Don't do big projects. Small ones have a lot more chance of success. In a small group, people are...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/13/2004

Domain Specific Languages

At OT2004, I ran a workshop on domain specific languages. OT is where the UK experts in software...

Author: Alan Cameron Wills Date: 04/13/2004