The Term Processor Kimwitu: A system for generating language-based software

We present a new system to support the construction of language-based software. Its major innovation is open multi-paradigm programming. This allows such software to be described in an arbitrary variety of styles, and also facilitates integration of language based tools. A large application and the impact on productivity of our system is discussed. 1 Introduction The construction of language-based software, such as compilers and tools for the analysis of programs or specifications, is a rich semantic domain. There are a number of formalisms in use to describe the functionality of such software. One sensible approach to implementing such software is to use a very high level programming language, of which the semantic model is closely related to the formalism in which the functionality is described. Examples are attribute grammars and functional languages. This works fine for prototypes of the software, but does not always result in satisfactory space and time performance. Another appro..