Abstract

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) assist a software developer (or end-user) in writing a program using idioms that are similar to the abstractions found in a specific problem domain. Testing tool support for DSLs is lacking when compared to the capabilities provided for standard general-purpose languages (GPLs), such as Java and C++. For example, support for debugging and unit testing a program written in a DSL is often non-existent. The lack of a debugger and unit test engine at the proper abstraction level limits an end-user‟s ability to discover and locate faults in a DSL program. This dissertation describes a grammar-driven technique to build a debugging and unit testing tool generation framework by adaptations to existing DSL grammars. This approach leverages existing GPL testing tools to indirectly exercise the end-user‟s debug and test intentions at the DSL level. The adaptations to DSL grammars represent the hooks needed to interface with a supporting infrastructure constructed for an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that assists in debugging and unit testing a program written in a DSL. The contribution represents a coordinated approach to bring essential

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