Bringing domain-specific languages to the Web

It seems inevitable that everything we do in software engineering is going Web. This is true also for Eclipse-based modeling environments. Whether or not online IDEs will make developer’s life easier that is another question. At least in the area of Domain-Specific Languages where automated processes are heavily used for model transformations, code generation, etc., one can think about web-based approaches. DSL users are supposed to be non-developers, say “domain experts”. Their focus is mainly on business added value, not the implementation details. Examples of domains making extensive use of model-driven engineering are automotive, energy, and aerospace.

Sharing tools and resources across multiple users has always been used in traditional developments environments. This is the case for versioning systems, workspace provisioning systems, shared repositories, and even content management systems. However, with the increasing of end users mobility and for some reasons of remote configuration, e-learning, webminars, wikis, etc., there is still a need for more lightweight applications shifted on web browsers.

In this screencast, I’m going to show you how you can derive a Web editor from an existing Xtext grammar, with the following features already given for free:

• Syntax highlighting
• Syntax validation
• Content assist

If this prototype interests you, you can contact me at: amine[at]plugbee[dot]com