Product Line Engineering Using Domain-Specific Languages

This paper investigates the application of domain-specific languages in product line engineering (PLE). It starts by analyzing the limits of expressivity of feature models. Feature models correspond to context-free grammars without recursion, which prevents the expression of multiple instances and references. The authors then show how domain-specific languages (DSLs) can serve as a middle ground between feature modeling and programming. They can be used in cases where feature models are too limited, while keeping the separation between problem space and solution space provided by feature models. This work then categorizes useful combinations between configuration with feature model and construction with DSLs and provide an integration of DSLs into the conceptual framework of PLE. Finally the authors show how use of a consistent, unified formalism for models, code, and configuration can yield important benefits for managing variability and trace ability.