Code generators

Code generators, which take a programmer´s inputs in the form of some abstraction, design, or direct interaction with the system and write out a source program that implements the details of the application, are reviewed. After a brief overview, four separate presentations cover examples of such systems from four domains. The Tags tools uses abstraction to specify real-time control systems. In this tool, the details of synchronization code are hidden from the designer, but some functionality must still be provided in detail. Microstep is a similar kind of tool for data-processing applications. One can view both Tags and Microstep as high-level specification languages. PSG generates programming environments, i.e. one gives it a nonprocedural specification of a language´s syntax and it generates an integrated programming environment for that language. While one must specify the environment in detailed form, the actual code generation is hidden. Escort is a similar system specialized for telecommunications applications. It lets one build, execute, and test specifications for telecommunication systems. Both PSG and Escort illustrate the power of domain-specific tools.<>