The document describes The Whole Platform, a language workbench for Eclipse. It allows for domain-specific languages to be defined and used for tasks like language development, data integration, and code generation. Key components include language frameworks, domain-specific languages, and a language workbench based on Eclipse. Usage scenarios automate language definition, data loading and transformation, and model-driven code generation.

1. The Whole Platform
A Language Workbench for Eclipse
Riccardo Solmi
University of Bologna and TAS
Project Leader, Whole Platform
© 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0 | March 20, 2008

2. Outline
• Aim: Engineering the production of software
• The Whole Platform Components
• Usage scenarios
Language development
Data integration
Code generation
• Related works
2 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

3. Aim: Engineering the production of software
• Raise the abstraction level to the domain level
Use domain languages for representing knowledge
Separate the knowledge from the implementation technologies
Involve domain experts in the development process
• Bridge the Execution gap
Rewrite programs into models and model transformations
Use generators to stay up-to-date with current technologies
• Bridge the Data gap
Specify the data formats using the data integration languages
Let the integration tools generate the metamodels and parsers
3 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

4. Whole Platform Components
• Whole Language Framework
Common infrastructure for languages and tooling
A Java library for Language Oriented Programming
• Whole Languages
A set of languages acting as a family
Modeling, data integration, and transformation languages
• Whole Language Workbench
A development environment to program at the domain level
Based on Eclipse and GEF
4 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

5. Usage Scenarios
Three Software Product Lines are supported:
• Language Development
Design and implement a DSL or a GPL
• Data Integration
Load, Transform, and Store data sources
• Code Generation
Perform generative tasks
Alternatively, write your own Software Product Lines
with a Language Oriented Programming style
5 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

6. Language Development
• End-to-End Language definition
Structure, persistences, notations, and tooling
Metamodels, validators, normalizers, interpreters, translators
Content assistants, generators, refactorings, analyzers
• Very short and iterable development cycle
Live definition and deploying of languages (including behavior)
Jump start with generic notations and persistences
• Smoother transition to model driven development
The Language Framework for programming and
the Language Workbench for modeling
6 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

7. Models DSL to define Metamodels
From
simple
DSLs
to full
GPLs
7 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

8. Generic Notation: AST Right
Start with a generic notation … then write a specific one
8 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

9. Generic Notation: Tabular Tree
Start with a generic notation … then write a specific one
9 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

10. XML Generic Persistence
10 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

11. Java Generic Persistence
11 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

12. Actions DSL to define Tooling
Write,
deploy
and try
12 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

13. Data Integration
• Wide range of data formats supported
XML Schemas, Grammars, DataBase Schemas, Java
• High level of automation reached
Write or import the specification of a data format
Generate the metamodel
Generate the data-to-model and model-to-data transformation
13 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

14. Grammars DSL to specify textual formats
14 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

15. Grammars DSL in action
Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Casey Stoner 01Marco Melandri …
Parse
and
unparse
From text
to model
and back
15 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

16. Workflows DSL to compose activities into processes
16 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

17. Code Generation
• Model-to-Model transformations
• Domain specific notations and tooling for all of the
languages involved in a transformation
• New Domain Specific Languages
• The SQL and XPath feeling and (almost) semantics
17 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

18. Artifacts DSL to manipulate workspace and the file system
18 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

19. Queries DSL to perform queries and transformations
19 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

20. Java
templates
and
helpers
20 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

21. Clearer
algorithms
with
Domain Specific
Notations
and
Path semantics
21 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

22. Related works
• Intentional Domain Workbench (Intentional Software)
• DSL Tools (Microsoft)
• Meta Programming System (JetBrains)
• HyperSenses (Delta Software)
• MetaEdit+ (MetaCase)
• XMF (Ceteva)
• Eclipse Modeling Project
openAchitectureWare (openAchitectureWare)
AMMA Platform (INRIA)
• MDA Specifications (OMG)
22 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

23. References
• Whole Platform
http://whole.sourceforge.net
• Examples, Screencasts and Tutorials
http://whole.sourceforge.net/Documentation.html
• Riccardo Solmi
solmi@cs.unibo.it
23 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0

24. Legal Notices
• The Whole Platform is an open source project
licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General
Public Licence by its owner Dr. Riccardo Solmi.
• Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of
Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other
countries, or both.
• Other company, product, or service names may be
trademarks or service marks of others.
24 The Whole Platform | A Language Workbench for Eclipse | © 2008 by Riccardo Solmi; made available under the EPL v1.0