Modeling Project as a DSL Toolkit - Eclipse Modeling Project: A Domain-Specific Language Toolkit - page 17

CHAPTER 2

Modeling Project as a
DSL Toolkit

To discuss using the Modeling project as a DSL Toolkit, this chapter first covers some of
the basics of domain-specific languages, model-driven software development, and the
installation of the requisite modeling project components. In the abstract, a DSL Toolkit
needs to enable a Toolsmith to define the domain model itself, a diagram, a textual nota-
tion, model-to-model transformations, and model-to-text transformations. The Modeling
project provides these through the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF), Graphical
Modeling Framework (GMF), Model-to-Model Transformation (M2M), and Model-to-
Text Transformation (M2T), respectively. Used together, they relate as shown in Figure
2-1, with the domain model (abstract syntax) being the basis of all artifacts. Figure 2-1
displays a simple notation for these abstract elements that I use throughout the topic.

Domain Model

{}

text

Diagram
Definition

Textual Syntax
Definition

MM MT

Model-to-Model
Transformation

Model-to-Text
Transformation

Figure 2-1 DSL Toolkit artifacts—abstract

Figure 2-2 provides a more concrete example (but still speaks in terms of the
abstract elements) and shows the artifacts used by our Toolsmith in developing
the mindmap application. Note that artifacts the Toolsmith develops might or

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