Program generators and the tools to make them

Abstract

Program generation is among the most promising techniques in the effort to increase the automation of programming tasks. In this paper, we discuss the potential impact and research value of program generation, we give examples of our research in the area, and we outline a future work direction that we consider most interesting. Specifically, we first discuss why program generators have significant applied potential. At the same time we argue that, as a research topic, meta-programming tools (i.e., language tools for writing program generators) may be of greater value. We then illustrate our views on generators and meta-programming tools with our latest work on the Meta-AspectJ metaprogramming language and the GOTECH generator. Finally, we examine the problem of statically determining the safety of a generator and present its intricacies. We limit our focus to one particular kind of guarantee for generated code-ensuring that the generated program is free of compile-time errors. We believe that this research direction will see significant attention and will make a difference in the mainstream adoption of meta-programming technology.We first present some general thoughts on program generators. We concentrate on frequently-asked questions about the nature and value of generators, as well as the research promise of the area.

Source code generation for scientific data collections

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A requirements-based programming approach to developing a NASA autonomous ground control system

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Uma contribuição ao projeto arquitetural de ambientes de engenharia de software

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“…De acordo com Smaragdakis et al (2004), os primeiros trabalhos sobre geradores de aplicação surgiram juntamente com as primeiras pesquisas em Ciência da Computação. Alguns dos trabalhos que mais têm-se destacado e que consolidam conhecimento dessa área de pesquisa são de Jones & Glenstrup (2002) e de Smaragdakis & Batory (2000).…”