Design Languages: A Necessary New Generation of Computer Languages

 

Abstract: With the increased demand for so-called “smart” systems, which are required to interact with the physical world in ever more complex ways, we are witnessing a corresponding growth in the complexity of the software that is at the core of such systems. Keeping pace with this rise in complexity is proving to be a challenge for current mainstream programming technologies, whose origins are typically rooted in increasingly outdated computing paradigms that can be traced to some of the earliest applications of computers (e.g., solving numerical problems). The first part of this talk examines in detail the primary inadequacies of current mainstream programming technologies, which renders them unsuitable for addressing modern software applications. This is followed by a discussion of emerging trends in computer language development, which point to a new generation of programming languages, referred to herein as design languages. The primary technical requirements for these new languages are explained, as well as the various pragmatic and socio-economic issues associated with their introduction into practice. In addition, a high-level summary of crucial research topics required to realize the full potential of these languages is also provided.