Navigating the trace of executable domain specific languages through a trace domain query language

By: Hiba Ajabri, Jean-Marie Mottu, Christian Attiogbé, Pascal Berruet

Abstract

Executable Domain Specific Languages (xDSL) enable domain experts to design and simulate the systems they develop. Various strategies have been explored for capturing system execution traces, allowing domain experts to perform advanced analysis. However, extracting meaningful data from these traces presents significant challenges for many domain experts due to: (1) a limited understanding of the trace structure and (2) a lack of software development skills needed to implement programs that navigate and extract data from execution traces. This paper presents an approach that allows domain experts to write trace queries using domain terminology, without relying on developers or requiring an in-depth understanding of the trace structure. This approach is at the heart of our main contribution: Trace Domain Query Language (TraceDQL), a query language that enables domain experts to write queries that explore the execution trace and return the requested data.This language is designed to be applicable across different application domains. The operational semantics of TraceDQL abstracts away the complexity of trace navigation, enabling domain experts to extract data without needing to understand the underlying trace structure. We illustrate our proposal with two case studies: the Simple Manufacturing System (SMS) xDSL and the Arduino xDSL.

Keywords

Domain-Specific Language, Model Execution, Execution Trace, Trace Query Language, Object Constraint Language (OCL).

Cite as:

Hiba Ajabri, Jean-Marie Mottu, Christian Attiogbé, Pascal Berruet, “Navigating the trace of executable domain specific languages through a trace domain query language”, Journal of Object Technology, Volume 24, no. 2 (May 2025), pp. 2:1-15, doi:10.5381/jot.2025.24.2.a8.