Evolution of Software Systems with Extensible Languages and DSLs

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) provide various advantages regarding the maintainability of software systems. Unfortunately, existing software systems don't exploit DSLs and their maintenance benefits. Based on the extensible programming language SugarJ, the authors present a process for gradually integrating DSLs into existing software systems, report on their experience in integrating three DSLs into two existing software systems, and outline a roadmap for the development of tool support for the integration of DSLs.