Component-based Development of Software Language Engineering Tools

Abstract

In this paper we outline how Software Language Engineering (SLE) could benefit from Component-based Software Development (CBSD) techniques and present an architecture aimed at developing a coherent set of lightweight SLE components, fitting into a general-purpose component framework. In order to give an impression on our development style, in this paper we demonstrate how to compose a syntax highlighter from a set of available SLE components using the NetBeans environment. Developing SLE tools as lightweight components that fit into general-purpose frameworks has advantages over the usual trend in which SLE tool development is towards large special-purpose frameworks. It facilitates incorporation of language processing tasks into all kinds of applications and makes SLE techniques available to occasional or first-time users with little effort.