The document discusses Acceleo, a templating language and tool for generating source code, configuration files, documentation, and other artifacts from models. Acceleo allows defining generation rules and templates to automatically produce code that adheres to best practices. It aims to improve both quality and productivity by reducing errors and time spent writing code manually. The key components of Acceleo discussed are the MTL templating language, integrated development tools for creating and maintaining templates, and a vision for future improvements.

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Template-based Generation Tooling
Etienne Juliot
EclipseCon 2017, Modeling Unconference

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Generating files from models
Coding rules
Model
Source code
Configuration files
Documentation
Customizable
Generator

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Why?
Quality
Automatically apply your best
coding best-practices
Productivity
Produce code in less time
than you would write it
manually
Adaptability
Easily integrate both functional
and technical evolutions
Produce good code quicker and safer!

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What is Acceleo?
Powerful and standard templating language Dedicated edition tooling
Quickly create lasting code generators!
Easy to adapt and maintain during your whole project’s life-cycle

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MTL Standard templating language (MOF-to-Text Language)
User code management
Invokation of Java Queries
Conditional File Generation
Local Variables Definition
Modularity
Polymorphism

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Integrated tooling
Initialization wizard
Template Editor
Syntax highlighting
Completion
Open declaration
Quick replacement
Refactoring
Hot Replace
Error detection
Interpreter View
Profiling
Dedicated Runtime
Stand alone + Maven Support
VCS support

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Template-based Generation Tooling
Easy Modular Iterative
www.eclipse.org/acceleo
✔ Tutorials
✔ User Guide
✔ Developer Doc
✔ Best Practices

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Project Organization
Specifications ARE Validation tests
For each Pattern
One Model
One Hand-Made Text File
One translation explaination
→ One new implemented feature
→ One test case
Avoid regression
Initialize
Edit
Deploy

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Vision for Acceleo 4
History : V1.0 (2006) v3.0 (MTL + Eclipse.org) v3.8→ →
Adopt AQL
Less verbose
Faster
Consistent with M2Doc & Sirius
Simplified internal architecture
Get rid of EMTL files to ease build & deployment
LSP based to support LSP4e, CHE, Visual Studio Code and other?
Template Debugger
Envisionned roadmap : Depending of your priorities & your support!