Generating readable software

Software generators are important tools for software engineers. However, their usefulness is often diminished because of the poor readability of the generated code. By encouraging generator builders to give readability much higher priority, we aim to improve the usability of generators, and to encourage the uptake of formally based software engineering tools, particularly by those who feel less at home with formal specifications. This paper first makes out a case for generating readable software, and then proceeds to outline the sort of qualities which such a generating system should possess. Finally, some facets of an existing generator are described, and its operation as a parser generator illustrated.