USENIX - DSL'99 - Call for Papers

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Language is central to the discipline of software engineering. Programmers use a variety of languages in their daily work, and new languages appear frequently. These languages may offer new solutions to problems such as software production, distribution, maintenance and enhancement. However, not all languages address the problem of general-purpose computing: domain-specific languages (DSLs) are explicitly designed to address a particular class of problems, while offering compelling advantages within that class.

This conference is dedicated to the discussion of the unique aspects of DSL design, DSL implementation, and the use of DSLs in software engineering.

Domain-specific languages give rise to a number of questions:

What are the design principles for the creation of new DSLs?
What are the concrete technical advantages and disadvantages of DSLs?
What roles can DSLs play in software engineering, and how does their use affect software engineering process?
What are the tools, environments, and techniques needed to support DSLs?
What are the economic costs and benefits of DSLs?

These and other questions are the focus of this conference, which seeks to advance the practice of DSL design, DSL implementation, and software engineering generally by:

eliciting examples of successful DSLs
highlighting the spectrum of benefits which DSLs can provide (e.g., compile-time guarantees of behavior, improve program performance, reduced interval, ...)
discovering design principles and methodologies for creating DSLs
eliciting design techniques and tools for working with DSLs throughout the software engineering lifecycle
providing a framework within which language designers from different domains can easily communicate
establishing the practical value of DSLs through the publication of empirical data concerning productivity, quality, and maintainability
creating a community that will continue to study and refine the practice of software engineering through DSLs

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