Section: New Software and Platforms
Melange
Keywords: Modeling language - Meta-modelisation - Language workbench - Dedicated langage - Model-driven software engineering - DSL - MDE - Meta model - Model-driven engineering - Meta-modeling
Scientific Description: Melange is a follow-up of the executable metamodeling language Kermeta, which provides a tool-supported dedicated meta-language to safely assemble language modules, customize them and produce new DSMLs. Melange provides specific constructs to assemble together various abstract syntax and operational semantics artifacts into a DSML. DSMLs can then be used as first class entities to be reused, extended, restricted or adapted into other DSMLs. Melange relies on a particular model-oriented type system that provides model polymorphism and language substitutability, i.e. the possibility to manipulate a model through different interfaces and to define generic transformations that can be invoked on models written using different DSLs. Newly produced DSMLs are correct by construction, ready for production (i.e., the result can be deployed and used as-is), and reusable in a new assembly.
Melange is tightly integrated with the Eclipse Modeling Framework ecosystem and relies on the meta-language Ecore for the definition of the abstract syntax of DSLs. Executable meta-modeling is supported by weaving operational semantics defined with Xtend. Designers can thus easily design an interpreter for their DSL in a non-intrusive way. Melange is bundled as a set of Eclipse plug-ins.
Functional Description: Melange is a language workbench which helps language engineers to mashup their various language concerns as language design choices, to manage their variability, and support their reuse. It provides a modular and reusable approach for customizing, assembling and integrating DSMLs specifications and implementations.