Inter-language reflection A conceptual model.pdf

Computer Languages, Systems Structures 32 (2006) 109–124 /locate/cl Inter-language reflection: A conceptual model and its implementation Kris Gybelsa,?, Roel Wuytsb, Stéphane Ducassec, Maja D’Hondtd aVrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium bUniversité Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium cLISTIC, Université de Savoie, France dUniversité des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Villeneuve D’Ascq, France Received 20 September 2005 Abstract Meta programming is the act of reasoning about a computational system. For example, a program in Prolog can reason about a program written in Smalltalk. Reflection is a more powerful form of meta programming where the same language is used to reason about, and act upon, itself in a causally connected way. Thus on the one hand we have meta programming that allows different languages or paradigms to be used, but without causal connection, while on the other hand we have reflection that offers causal connection but only for a single language. This paper combines both and presents inter-language reflection that allows one language to reason about and change in a causally connected way another language and vice versa. The fundamental aspects of inter-language reflection and the language symbiosis used therein, are discussed. Moreover the implementation of two symbiotic reflective languages is discussed: Agora/Java and SOUL/Smalltalk. ? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Meta programming; Reflection; Linguistic symbiosis; Inter-language reflection 1. Introduction Software engineering practices often require tools that incorporate a form of meta programming for extracting information from programs, checking them against a certain specification or generating them. Examples abound such as tools for detecting bad smells in programs to be refactored [1], checking the program’s conformance with architectural restrictions [2], generating skeleton code for the implementation of design patterns or user interface elements [3],