System Description Language

Abstract

There are two inputs to the construction of a software system: the sources and the instructions for producing the system from those sources. For small code bases, simple instructions generally suffice. However, for even moderately large systems, the build instructions become complex and subtle, and the simple, script-like facilities of conventional build “languages” such as Make therefore become inadequate. For this reason, Vesta’s system description language (SDL) supports complete, hierarchical build instructions, which enable all the details of a build to be specified in a modular form consistent with the overall system structure. Moreover, SDL supports functional abstraction, which makes it possible to encapsulate low-level building. As a result, complex details can be hidden from the view of end users, simplifying the system descriptions they write.