computer science

Language workbench

Language workbench is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Language workbench rather than just read about it. In short: A language workbench is a tool or set of tools that enables software development in the language-oriented programming software development paradigm. A language workbench will typically include tools to support the definition, reuse and composition of domain-specific languages together with their integrated development environment.

Key takeaways

Language workbench belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Language workbench to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Language workbench from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A language workbench is a tool or set of tools that enables software development in the language-oriented programming software development paradigm. A language workbench will typically include tools to support the definition, reuse and composition of domain-specific languages together with their integrated development environment. Language workbenches were introduced and popularized by Martin Fowler in 2005. Language workbenches usually support:

Specification of the language concepts or metamodel Specification of the editing environments for the domain-specific language Specification of the execution semantics, e.g. through interpretation and code generation

Examples Racket is a cross-platform language development workbench including compiler, JIT compiler, IDE and command-line tools designed to accommodate creating both domain-specific languages and completely new languages with facilities to add new notation, constrain constructs, and create IDE tools. JetBrains MPS is a tool for designing domain-specific languages. It uses projectional editing which allows overcoming the limits of language parsers, and building DSL editors, such as ones with tables and diagrams. It implements language-oriented programming. MPS combines an environment for language definition, a language workbench, and an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for such languages. Kermeta is an open-source academic language workbench. The Kermeta workbench uses three different meta-languages: one meta-language for the abstract syntax (aligned with Emof); one for the static semantics (aligned with OCL) and one for the behavioral semantics (called the Kermeta Language itself). Melange is a language workbench that provides a modular approach for customizing, assembling and integrating multiple domain-specific language (DSL) specifications and implementations. Spoofax. is an open-source language workbench for generating parsers, type checkers, compilers, interpreters, as well as IDE plugins for Eclipse and IntelliJ. It uses SDF and a scannerless GLR parser for syntax, and formalisms derived from Stratego/XT for semantics. Xtext is an open-source software framework for developing programming languages and domain-specific languages (DSLs). Unlike standard parser generators, Xtext generates not only a parser, but also a class model for the abstract syntax tree. In addition, it provides a fully featured, customizable Eclipse-based IDE. Meeduse is an EMF-based framework that allows one to build, prove and animate executable domain-specific languages (xDSLs) using the B Method. The tool embeds ProB, and animator and model-checker of the B Method.

See also Language-oriented programming Compiler-compiler Category:Language workbench

References

External links Martin Fowler, Language Workbench Language Workbench Challenge

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Language workbench

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Language workbench claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Language workbench before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Language workbench ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Language workbench

In research: Language workbench appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Language workbench in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Language workbench is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 introductions, Computing stubs, Language workbench, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Language workbench outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Language workbench in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Language workbench means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Language workbench out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Language workbench in simple terms?

Why does Language workbench matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Language workbench?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Language workbench.