Bootstrapping Domain-Specific Meta-Languages in Language Workbenches

Bootstrapping Domain-Specific Meta-Languages in Language Workbenches

Konat, G.D.P. (TU Delft Programming Languages)
Erdweg, S.T. (TU Delft Programming Languages)
Visser, Eelco (TU Delft Programming Languages)

Schaefer, I. (editor)
Fischer, B. (editor)

2016

It is common practice to bootstrap compilers of programming languages. By using the compiled language to implement the compiler, compiler developers can code in their own high-level language and gain a large-scale test case. In this paper, we investigate bootstrapping of compiler-compilers as they occur in language workbenches. Language workbenches support the development of compilers through the application of multiple collaborating domain-specific meta-languages for defining a language’s syntax, analysis, code generation, and editor support. We analyze the bootstrapping problem of language workbenches in detail, propose a method for sound bootstrapping based on fixpoint compilation, and show how to conduct breaking meta-language changes in a bootstrapped language workbench. We have applied sound bootstrapping to the Spoofax language workbench and report on our experience.

Bootstrapping
Domain-specific
Language workbench
Meta-language

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:15f4b654-31a3-4485-b270-ea9e4ded2c2f

https://doi.org/10.1145/2993236.2993242

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York, NY

978-145034446-3

Proceedings of the 2016 ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Generative Programming: Concepts and Experiences

15th ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Generative Programming, 2016-10-31 → 2016-11-01, Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Institutional Repository

conference paper

© 2016 G.D.P. Konat, S.T. Erdweg, Eelco Visser