Source code generator based on a proprietary specification language

An application generator has resulted from the authors' efforts to improve the development of interactive database applications. The developed tool is based on a meta-base. The meta-base comprises an extended data model, the programming language description and some additional information to support the generation process. The procedures described in a proprietary specification language serve to generate the application over the database modeled in the meta-base. The specification language is based on source code templates, standard program structures and on special statements for handling the meta-data. The main ideas and operating principles of the original application generator are exposed. The specification language, its syntax and basic components are described. The generator functionality is explained on some simple specification examples where the SQL code and pseudo-code for the corresponding hypothetical application are generated. Experience gathered from practical usage of the generator is discussed. A list of projects is included, where some complex applications were developed by the aid of the generator. An analysis is presented to show the proportions of generated source code versus manually written statements.