Implementation of visual languages using pattern-based specifications

摘要

The implementation of visual languages requires a wide range of conceptual and technical knowledge from issues of user interface design and graphical implementation to aspects of analysis and transformation for languages in general. We present a powerful toolset that incorporates such knowledge. Our toolset generates editors from high-level specifications. A language is specified by identifying certain patterns in the language structure and selecting a visual representation from a set of precoined solutions. Visual programs are represented by attributed abstract trees. Therefore, further phases of processing visual programs can be generated by state-of-the-art tools for language implementation. We demonstrate that even challenging visual languages can be implemented with reasonably little effort and with rather limited technical knowledge. The approach is suitable for a large variety of visual language styles.