Software Factory DSL: Microsoft's answer to MDA
Stephen Swoyer
[2004/12/1] Two years ago, OMG introduced MDA, using UML to dynamize software integration from application, middleware, or custom components. Thomas Murphy, Vice President of the Consulting Company Meta Group, believes that from some extent, software factories and related fields specific language DSL (Domain Specific Languages) concept, Microsoft's response to MDA. "MDA is an OMG software factory. Microsoft's goal is the DSL field, so many things are built on the value of different perspectives (view)" So, what is Microsoft thinks about a DSL? Microsoft Enterprise Framework and Toolbar's Architect Keith Short pointed out that many developers have been working on DSL - although they don't know themselves. "SQL is a very good DSL", keith explanation, the developer does not need to know how the relational database works in the process of using SQL. Ok, is there any relationship with the concept of software factories? For beginners, Microsoft puts software factory as a way of automating some manual tasks and packaging fields. For example, the domain knowledge can be packaged as code or components, and can be easily multiplexed. Short believes that this is the DSL design purpose: from the developer's point of view, DSL can help abstract complexity in a particular field (such as architecture, process, technical standards, etc.). If Web Services is very complicated, it is required to understand which services are available, how to connect, and so on. Short pointed out, "Imagine that you can put these abstractions to a DSL, this DSL is a tool to pay attention to a specific development environment." Like Web Services, SQL is the result of standardizing efforts for many years. Microsoft and other developers have obligations to develop good tools to help developers create their own DSL. SHORT said, "One of the things we have to do is to help the designers simply build DSL and achieve them ..." This software giant issued a DSL's appeal at the OOPSL meeting in September. A new toolset, helping developers in the graphical environment, editing DSL. Short pointed out that the idea behind the tool set is to make "Software Factors can more easily describe interactions between things, such as between Source Codes and Schema." Microsoft's movements have attracted the attention of developers Even the programmakers like Michael Hudson usually disdain for Microsoft technology. Hudson is a programmer of Praxis, J2EE expert. He believes that DSL is the most powerful thinking in Microsoft's software factories. But he believes that many ideas are borrowed from other technologies such as XDE. XDE is RATIONAL support for the RAD tool for MDA methods. Hudson said, "I think they are looking for critical places, that is: high-level modeling must be described in a specific language. You can get the business logic you face to the area, and the development process is more effective faster I think that if the concept of software factory can be successful, it should be because of innovation on the DSL. "Developers can package their experiences in the way of using DSL, which is completely possible. This is actually an abstraction of them for yourself or less. But Thomas Murphy believes that this thing will not happen, "We have pushed this concept for a long time: simplifying software development through abstraction, making anyone can develop. But there will be a lot of creative developers in the future. The front-line development of software development is designed. (From ADTMAG, UMLCHINA, Yuan Feng, must not be reproduced for commercial purposes)
