Domain-Specific Development with Visual Studio DSL Tools

by Cook, Steve; Jones, Gareth; Kent, Stuart; Wills, Alan Cameron

• ISBN13: 9780321398208
• ISBN10: 0321398203
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780132701556
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-24
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs)--languages geared to specific vertical or horizontal areas of interest--are attracting growing excitement from software engineers and architects. DSLs bring new agility to the creation and evolution of system requirements and simplify their translation into code, significantly reducing development costs in large-scale projects. In this breakthrough book, four leading experts reveal exactly how DSLs work, and how you can make the most of them in your environment. You'll begin by mastering DSL concepts and techniques that apply to all platforms. Next, discover how to create and use DSLs with the powerful new Microsoft DSL Tools--a toolset designed by this book's authors. Learn how the Microsoft DSL Tools integrate into Visual Studio 2005--and how to define DSLs and generate Visual Designers using Visual Studio's built-in modeling technology. In-depth coverage includes Determining whether DSLs will work for you Comparing DSLs with other approaches to model-driven development Defining, tuning, and evolving DSLs: models, presentation, creation, updates, serialization, constraints, validation, and more Creating Visual Designers for new DSLs with little or no coding Multiplying productivity by generating application code from your models with easy-to-use text templates Automatically generating configuration files, resources, and other artifacts Deploying Visual Designers across the organization, quickly and easily Customizing Visual Designers for specialized process needs The book's companion Web site (www.domainspecificdevelopment.com) includes code samples, plus additional resources and information.

Author Biography

Steve Cook is a software architect in the Enterprise Frameworks and Tools group at Microsoft Gareth Jones, DSL Tools Lead Developer, has been at Microsoft since 1997 Stuart Kent joined Microsoft in 2003 as a program manager to work on the DSL Tools Alan Cameron Wills was a methodology consultant for nearly a decade before joining Microsoft in 2003

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xvii
List of Tables	p. xxv
Foreword	p. xxvii
Preface	p. xxix
About the Authors	p. xxxv
Domain-Specific Development	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Domain-Specific Development	p. 2
Examples	p. 4
Software Defined Circuitry	p. 8
Embedded Systems	p. 9
Device Interfaces	p. 9
Software Development Process Customization	p. 9
Benefits	p. 10
Languages	p. 11
Textual DSLs	p. 15
Graphical DSLs	p. 20
Conventions for Representing Structure	p. 21
Conventions for Representing Behavior	p. 22
Aspects of Graphical DSLs	p. 23
Notation	p. 24
Domain Model	p. 24
Generation	p. 24
Serialization	p. 25
Tool Integration	p. 26
Putting It All Together	p. 26
DSLs in Visual Studio	p. 27
The Customization Pit	p. 32
UML	p. 34
Summary	p. 40
Creating and Using DSLs	p. 41
Introduction	p. 41
Process: Incremental Development of DSLs	p. 41
Generalizing an Application: Identify Variability, Discover DSLs	p. 42
Top-Down and Bottom-Up	p. 46
Developing the DSL: From Sketches to Domain Model	p. 48
Domain Model and Presentation Are Separate	p. 49
Refining the DSL	p. 50
Driving the Framework from the DSL	p. 51
Using the DSL	p. 53
Evolving the DSLs	p. 55
Interpretive Architectures	p. 56
Creating a DSL in Visual Studio	p. 57
Creating a DSL Authoring Solution in Visual Studio	p. 57
Trying Out the DSL Solution	p. 61
Defining the DSL	p. 64
Generating the Code for the Designer	p. 66
Adding to the DSL	p. 67
Constraints	p. 68
Customizing the Explorer Window	p. 71
Customizing the Properties Window	p. 72
Custom Code for the Designers	p. 73
Serialization Format of the DSL File	p. 73
Driving Applications from the DSL	p. 74
Deployment	p. 76
A Second DSL: The Project Definition DSL	p. 77
Architecture of the DSL Tools	p. 78
The Generated Code	p. 78
DSL Tools Architectural Layers	p. 79
The Framework Assemblies	p. 79
Content of the DSL Project	p. 81
Content of the DslPackage Project	p. 83
Summary	p. 85
Domain Model Definition	p. 87
Introduction	p. 87
The Domain Model Designer	p. 88
The In-Memory Store	p. 89
Domain Classes	p. 92
Domain Relationships	p. 98
Embeddings	p. 101
Multiplicity	p. 104
References	p. 105
Relationship Derivation	p. 106
Generating a Designer with No Shapes	p. 108
The Generated Code	p. 109
Using the Generated Code	p. 113
More about Domain Classes	p. 115
DomainClassInfo	p. 118
More about Domain Properties	p. 119
Calculated Properties	p. 121
DomainPropertyInfo	p. 121
More on Domain Relationships and Roles	p. 122
Accessing Links	p. 124
More on Relationship Derivation	p. 126
DomainRelationshipInfo and DomainRoleInfo	p. 129
More about the Store	p. 129
Looking Up Elements	p. 129
Partitions	p. 130
Rules	p. 130
DomainModelInfo	p. 130
Summary	p. 131
Presentation	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
Graphical Notation-Overview	p. 134
Diagram and Editor	p. 137
Diagram	p. 138
Editor	p. 141
Designer	p. 142
Custom Editor	p. 142
Shapes	p. 146
Kinds of Shapes	p. 147
Shape Maps	p. 154
Connectors	p. 164
Connector Anatomy and Appearance	p. 164
Connectors and Inheritance	p. 165
Connector Maps	p. 165
Advanced Connector Maps	p. 167
Decorators	p. 167
Kinds of Decorators	p. 168
Positioning	p. 169
Decorator Maps	p. 170
Customizing the Graphical Notation in Code	p. 173
Multiline Text Decorators	p. 173
Variable Image Shape	p. 174
Set a Background Picture	p. 176
Set Custom Connection Points	p. 177
Change Routing Style of Connectors	p. 178
Explorer	p. 180
Default Appearance	p. 181
Changing the Window Icon and Label	p. 183
Customizing the Appearance of Nodes	p. 184
Hiding Nodes	p. 186
Customizing the Explorer through Code	p. 187
Properties Window	p. 188
Default Appearance of Properties Window	p. 188
Categories, Names, and Descriptions	p. 190
Hiding Properties and Making Them Read-Only	p. 192
Forwarding Properties	p. 192
Customizing the Properties Window through Code	p. 193
Summary	p. 195
Creation, Deletion, and Update Behavior	p. 197
Introduction	p. 197
Element Creation	p. 197
The Toolbox	p. 198
Element Merge Directives	p. 200
Custom Element Merge Directives	p. 208
Re-Parenting with Element Merge Directives	p. 211
Custom Element Tool Prototypes	p. 212
Connection Builders	p. 216
Multiple Source and Target Role Directives	p. 217
Multiple Link Connect Directives	p. 219
Custom Connection Builders	p. 222
Element Deletion	p. 229
Default Delete Propagation Rules	p. 229
Controlling Delete Propagation	p. 231
Customizing Delete Propagation	p. 232
Summary	p. 234
Serialization	p. 237
Introduction	p. 237
Saving and Loading Models and Diagrams	p. 238
Model XML File Format	p. 239
Elements and Properties	p. 242
Relationships	p. 243
Relationship Derivation	p. 245
Cross-Referencing	p. 245
Using Guids as References	p. 246
Using Qualified Names as References	p. 248
References to Links	p. 249
Diagram XML File Format	p. 251
Versioning and Migration	p. 254
The XML Schema	p. 257
Customization	p. 258
Modifying XML Element Names	p. 259
Element Data	p. 261
Implementing Your Own Serializer	p. 264
Generated Serialization Code	p. 264
Customized Serialization Code	p. 271
Impact of Customization on the Schema	p. 272
Summary	p. 273
Constraints and Validation	p. 275
Introduction	p. 275
Choosing Hard or Soft Constraints?	p. 277
Choices Made by the DSL Tools	p. 280
Soft Constraints in the DSL Tools	p. 280
Validation Methods	p. 282
Enabling Validation	p. 284
Invoking Validation	p. 288
Custom Validation Categories	p. 289
Inheriting Validation Behavior	p. 292
Validation Output	p. 292
Using Validation Outside the IDE	p. 293
Validation Against External Data	p. 294
Hard Constraints in the DSL Tools	p. 295
Rules	p. 296
Putting Together Hard and Soft Constraints	p. 299
Summary	p. 307
Generating Artifacts	p. 309
Introduction	p. 309
Artifact Generation Styles	p. 311
Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations	p. 311
Making Use of the Domain-Specific API	p. 314
A Template-Based Approach	p. 319
Complex Relationships and Round-Tripping	p. 321
The Templatization Process	p. 325
The First Cut Template	p. 328
Generation-Specific Model Data	p. 338
Starting to Build a Library	p. 340
Syntax of a Text Template	p. 341
Directives	p. 341
Custom Directives	p. 344
Control Block Types	p. 346
Problems of Large-Scale, Real-World Artifact Generation	p. 349
Advanced Customizations	p. 351
Text Templating Architecture	p. 352
Custom Hosting	p. 354
Custom Directive Processor	p. 357
Custom Orchestration	p. 359
Summary	p. 366
Deploying a DSL	p. 369
Introduction	p. 369
Files Needed to Install a Designer	p. 370
Getting Started-Creating a Setup Project	p. 373
Setup Project Contents	p. 376
Customizing Setup	p. 377
Customizing InstallerDefinition.dslsetup	p. 377
Customizing settings.ini	p. 377
Customizing Strings.wxl	p. 378
Customizing Product.ico	p. 378
The .dslsetup Format	p. 378
[left angle bracket]dslPackage[right angle bracket]	p. 380
[left angle bracket]licenseAgreement[right angle bracket]	p. 382
[left angle bracket]supportingFiles[right angle bracket]	p. 382
[left angle bracket]vsItemTemplates[right angle bracket]	p. 383
[left angle bracket]dslSchemas[right angle bracket]	p. 384
[left angle bracket]vsProjectTemplates[right angle bracket]	p. 384
[left angle bracket]mergeModules[right angle bracket]	p. 384
[left angle bracket]textTemplates[right angle bracket]	p. 385
Refreshing the Installation Files	p. 387
Package Load Key	p. 388
Deploying Text Templates for Code Generation	p. 390
Creating a Project Template from the Debugging Project	p. 390
Using a Text Template Include File	p. 392
Including Text Templates in the VS Item Template	p. 393
Summary	p. 396
Advanced DSL Customization	p. 397
Introduction	p. 397
Tools for Customization	p. 397
Partial Classes	p. 397
Double Derived-The Generation Gap	p. 398
Custom Constructors	p. 399
Customization Switches	p. 399
Custom Overrides	p. 401
Responding to Changes	p. 402
Property Handlers "On Value Changed/Changing"	p. 402
Calculated Domain Properties	p. 404
Custom Storage Domain Properties	p. 405
Notify Value Change	p. 407
Propagating Change from Model to Shape: OnAssociatedPropertyChanged	p. 408
Rules	p. 412
Store Events	p. 417
.NET Event Handlers	p. 419
Event Overrides	p. 420
Bounds Rules	p. 420
Summary of Change Propagation and Constraint Techniques	p. 424
DSL Shell Architecture	p. 426
How to Add a Menu Command	p. 429
Add a Command Id for Each Command	p. 430
Increment Menu Resource Index	p. 430
Add Commands to Command Set	p. 431
Define the Command Handlers	p. 432
Good Practices for Command Handlers	p. 434
Build and Run	p. 435
Providing Handlers for Standard Commands	p. 435
Building the DSL Diagram into Another Interface	p. 435
Implementing Copy and Paste	p. 437
The Copy Method	p. 437
The Paste Method	p. 438
Registering the Menu Handlers	p. 440
Shape Containers	p. 442
Child Shapes	p. 442
A DSL Using Nested Child Shapes	p. 443
Shape Containment Using Rules	p. 446
Summary	p. 453
Designing a DSL	p. 455
Introduction	p. 455
Identifying Variability	p. 456
Bottom-Up or Top-Down?	p. 457
Feature Trees	p. 458
Feature Trees and DSLs	p. 459
Developing the Domain Model	p. 460
Sketch Domain Snapshots	p. 460
Domain Model from Snapshots	p. 464
Developing the Notation	p. 468
Project Definition Notation	p. 470
Issue State Notation	p. 471
Familiar Notations	p. 474
Defining Validation Constraints	p. 475
Internal Consistency	p. 476
Consistency with External Data and Models	p. 478
Developing and Evolving the Framework	p. 479
Generation versus Interpretation	p. 479
Evolving a Generic Framework	p. 481
Driving a Framework from the DSL	p. 483
Testing	p. 484
Validation Constraints	p. 486
Generator Templates	p. 488
Generated Code	p. 488
Rules	p. 489
Language Definition	p. 489
Evolving a DSL	p. 489
What Makes a Good DSL?	p. 491
Appropriate Notation: An Example with Regular Expressions	p. 493
Candidate Notations	p. 495
Graphs Are Not Syntax Trees	p. 498
Summary	p. 498
Conclusion	p. 499
Index	p. 503
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

This book is a software developer's guide to using the Microsoft Tools for Domain-Specific Languages ("DSL Tools"), which are included in the SDK (Software Development Kit) for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.The software industry is showing considerable interest in using "domain-specific languages," an approach to building software that promises to reduce software development costs, especially in large projects. A domain-specific language (DSL) is a language specially geared to working within a particular area of interest: a vertical domain such as telephone design, or a horizontal one like workflow. It may be a programming language or a specification or design language. It may be textual or graphical, or a mixture of both. The language is expressed in terms that are used in a particular domain, such as "connect," "ringtone," or "work item," uncluttered by the details of how those concepts are implemented. Software, configuration files, resources, and other documents can be generated from instances of the language--often many of those artifacts can be generated from one DSL--or the language may be interpreted directly. This makes it much easier to discuss the software at the requirements level, and to make changes in an agile way. In vertical domains, the accessibility of the language to business users helps when discussing requirements with them.DSLs are not a new idea--HTML and SQL are well-known examples of DSLs. Less widespread, however, is the idea of creating your own DSL for your own project. The purpose of the Microsoft DSL Tools is to reduce the upfront cost of doing so. You can quickly create a range of diagrammatic languages, such as workflow, class, or entity diagrams, and you can create tools for generating artifacts from them. Goals and ScopeThis book is for you if you are a software developer or architect using, or thinking about using, the Microsoft DSL Tools. It explains how to create and use languages, how to tune them to your needs, and how to employ them within the context of your project. The book should also be of significant value to readers who are interested in the broader general topic of domain-specific languages, or who wish to compare and contrast different approaches to model-driven development, or tools that support model-driven development. Chapters 1 and 11 discuss the more general topic of domain-specific languages, and how you go about designing one. The middle chapters focus exclusively on providing a detailed yet readable reference on building DSLs and code generators using the DSL Tools.The book's authors are the main designers of the Microsoft DSL Tools. They have worked together on the product since its inception, and are responsible for most of the key design decisions. Why You Might Want to Use DSL ToolsIf you (or your organization) are writing the same or similar code repeatedly, whether within a single large project or over the course of multiple projects, then such code can probably be generated. If this is the case, you should consider using the DSL Tools as a way to generate this code. This is especially the case if the code can be generated from structures that can easily be understood by domain specialists rather than software development specialists. After reading this book, you should be able to assess the capabilities of the DSL Tools to address problems of this kind, either directly or after some customization. Organization of This BookChapter 1, Domain-Specific Development, explains the DSL approach, compares it with similar techniques, and introduces typical scenarios in which a DSL is used.Chapter 2, Creating and Using DSLs, looks at the various parts of the DSL Tools system, shows how they fit together, and introduces the main examples that will be used through the remainder of the book.Chapter 3, Domain Model Definition, details how to define the concepts of the language.Chapter 4, P