A Tool for Generating Java Source Efficiently

摘要

Authors of this article were looking for a lightweight, document object model (DOM) like Java source code generator tool in their ongoing metaprogramming project called MOFCOM. After enumerating several code generator solutions currently available, it has been found that these do not fit the identified requirements: DOM based solutions are heavyweight, lightweight solutions are neither DOM like nor follow the semantic model of the Java language. The lack of a proper tool necessitated the establishment of Javagen, a small yet efficient solution. Javagen is a run-time library written in Java, which runs entirely within the application program. It provides an API that allows the application to create a formal model of a Java program by instantiating a metamodel of the Java language, to operate on this model, e. g. by adding methods, attributes to the classes, interfaces, and to generate Java source files based on the created model.