Systematic Language Extension Mechanisms for the MontiArc Architecture Description Language

Architecture description languages (ADLs) combine the benefits of component-based software engineering and model-driven development. Extending an ADL to domain-specific requirements is a major challenge for its successful application. Most ADLs focus on fixed features and do not consider domain-specific language extension. ADLs focusing on extensibility focus on syntactic augmentation only and neither consider semantics, nor the ADL’s tooling. We present a systematic extension method for the MontiArc component and connector ADL that enables extending its syntax and infrastructure. The MontiArc ADL is built on top of the MontiCore workbench for compositional modeling languages and leverages its powerful language integration facilities. Based on these, we conceived systematic extension activities and present their application to customizing MontiArc for three different domains. This application of software language engineering to ADLs reduces effort for their extension and the presented method guides developers in applying it to their domain. This ultimately fosters the application of ADLs to real-world domain-specific challenges.