Enhanced Control Flow Graphs in Montages

A semi-visual framework for the specification of syntax and semantics of imperative programming languages, called Montages, was proposed in an earlier work by the authors. The primary aim of this formalism is to assist in recording the decisions taken by the designer during the language design process. The associated tool Gem-Mex allows the designer to maintain the specification and to inspect the semantics to verify whether the design decisions have been properly formalized. Experience with full-scale case studies on Oberon, Java, and domain specific languages showed the close relationship to Finite State Machines (FSMs). This paper gives a new definition of Montages based on FSMs. It confers to the formalism enhanced pragmatic qualities, such as writability, extensibility, readability, and, in general, ease of maintenance.