Dynamic symbol templates and ports in MetaEdit

A graphical language definition is often divided into its abstract syntax and concrete syntax. The concrete syntax of a DSM language used on paper or in a drawing tool is often rich and varied, whereas many language workbenches only easily support rather simple boxes or icons, with more complex symbols quickly hitting a "customization cliff" and requiring manual programming. In this demonstration, we show the new dynamic symbol functions, templates and ports in MetaEdit+ 5.0. These extend the WYSIWYG symbol definition of MetaEdit+ with iterative and recursive possibilities, useful both for building common complex symbols and opening up new possibilities.