A few thoughts on code generation with MPS

Here is a typical scenario that I use when working with classical external DSLs: I describe certain structures in the model. From the model I generate all kinds of code, infrastructure, glue code, and also an API (e.g. superclasses) against which I then implement the manually-written business logic.

Here is an important thing: if I want to enforce certain constraints, for example visiblities or dependencies, then it is not enough to enforce these constraints on model level. I must make sure, through generation of suitable code structures, that in the manually written parts I cannot violate these constraints. For example, I need to prevent the creation of depenencies that have been prevented on DSL level. Consequently, I have to put a lot of thought into the structure of the generated code and sometimes I need to use "tricks" to enforce these constraints on code level. Or I need to use static analysis tools.

Contrast this with the approach in MPS: here you code *everything* in the model, because you can use Java (or other languages we're working on) directly on the model level. You don't implement code against some kind of generated API. So you can enforce the constraints mentioned above only in the model! The generated code is really not important here (sure, it should be readable and debuggable, but it's not something against you program). This simplifies the design of the generated code, and hence the code generator, quite a bit.  permalink