Ramble

Presented by: Neal Ford

The first keynote of the day was very interesting and as I have mentioned previously, I think it’s subject matter is an important theme of the conference.

Domain Specific Languages (DSL) allow developers to use classes and objects as the building blocks of a higher-level abstraction.  The point was made that DSLs are used all the time.  For example, Starbucks converts your order into a DSL with specific syntax, grammar, and vocabulary, i.e. “Iced Decaf Triple Grande Vanilla Skim with Whip Latte.” By creating DSLs, developers can offer something that the client may actually be able to read, if not write themselves.  But, more importantly to me, a well-designed DSL situates development snuggly within the problem domain, providing a language that is ideal for describing solutions to domain-specific problems.  Thus, development can proceed faster because the solution doesn’t have to be translated into native C or some other lower-level language.

There was a lot of good information in the talk and I’ll probably write more about DSLs later, after I’ve had some more time to digest things.  But, certainly, the first keynote really started the day off well.