Generative Programming: Methods, Techniques and Applications [Tapa blanda]

 

 

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This is a solid (and rather academic) book on the theory behind code generation. Unfortunately, I find it somewhat dated and too focused on C++ templates.

The first part of the book includes a nice introduction to domain engineering (a must for anyone interested in the development of product lines). Here, feature diagrams are introduced to represent variation points without implying a particular variation mechanism (such as inheritance or parametrization in OO languages).

The core of this book deals with different implementation technologies. You will find interesting discussions on generic programming, polymorphism, C++ templates, and aspect-oriented programming. In my opinion, the chapter on AOP is probably the best, since it provides a good survey of different approaches (subject-oriented programming, composition filters, and adaptive [structure-shy] programming) and shows some examples in AspectJ Cool (a precursor of the current version of AspectJ [the Java aspect-oriented extension]) and Dynamic Cool (for Smalltalk).

The chapters on generators elaborate on the transformational model of software development, where software development is seen as series of transformations performed on various representations of a system (i.e. creating and evolving specifications of systems and implementing them). Unfortunately, the authors focus too much on C++ template metaprogramming, which is not too practical (at least for me, mainly a Java/.Net developer). The application examples in the final part of the book also follow this approach despite its limitations regarding debugging and code readability. This limitations are not present in intentional programming, which is also covered in its own chapter. Ideally, IP would enable software source code to reflect the intention that programmers had in mind when developing it, thus simplifying maintenance and allowing programmers to keep a good high-level picture of their programs as a whole. Vapor-ware? Fantasy-ware? Maybe

If you are looking for practical ideas on code generation, this book is probably not for you. It is worth its price, however, if you just want to broaden your perspective on computer programming and are not afraid of hefty academic volumes.

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