iSAQB® DSL - Domain-Specific Languages

The iSAQB® DSL training rests on formal language theory: LL and LR parsing, denotational and operational semantics, type inference. You settle the syntax of your language and generate its parser with ANTLR or Bison. You decide deliberately how powerful that language has to be, and where it stops. A DSL in this sense is a language with a formal grammar that a tool can read, not a shared domain vocabulary.

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What this module delivers.

You design the grammar, the parser and the semantics in the DSL training. tecnovy takes you from syntax to type system to tooling, so your team writes domain rules as a language instead of configuration.

How the training runs

Method: Build your own language, 360 of 1080 minutes hands-on
Basis: Official iSAQB DSL curriculum 2023.1
Outcome: 30 credit points: 20 methodical, 10 technical, no course exam

Dates & booking

Choose a date that fits

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New dates are published regularly. Join the waitlist or plan an in-house course for your team.

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Fit

Who this module is designed for

Typical roles

You maintain a configuration format that has grown its own rules and expressions.
You decide whether domain logic becomes a library, an embedded DSL or a language of its own.
You hand domain experts a notation in which they write the rules themselves.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

You can start right away. What you need: the basics of formal grammars and regular expressions, the difference between an interpreter and a compiler, the role of types in programming languages.

Consider instead DDD Spends 240 of its 1020 minutes on eliciting the model with domain experts and awards 10 communicative points, where DSL builds grammar, parser and type system.

Curriculum

CPSA® DSL Course in Detail

Curriculum 2023.1 splits DSL into six parts across 1080 teaching minutes, 360 of them exercises. It opens at the question of when a language of your own pays off, then works through syntax, semantics and language design to the tooling and one presented example.

01Intro and Motivation

This part settles when a language of your own is worth the effort at all.

Requirements that argue for a DSL: an inexpressive implementation language, complex domain rules, analysability
Core terms: parser, compiler, interpreter, syntax, semantics, compile time and run time
DSL taxonomy: embedded or standalone, interpreted or compiled
The spectrum between library design and language design, and its link to domain-driven design

02Syntax

Here you design how your language looks and how it is read.

Grammar design as a question of ergonomics, embedding in a host language, Lisp-style macros
Lexical against structural syntax, regular and context-free grammars
LL against LR parsing and the restrictions a parser imposes on the grammar
Concrete against abstract syntax, a text format against projectional editors

03Semantics

This part settles what a program in your language actually means.

Compiler against interpreter, JIT compilation and what GraalVM changes about it
Computation models: lambda calculus, Turing machines, rewriting systems, finite state machines
The principle of least power and when a deviation from it is justified
Denotational and operational semantics, big-step against small-step, semi-formal description

04Language Design

This is where the design decisions that carry your language get made.

Type system design and inference, typed against untyped DSLs, overloading primitive values
Compositionality: the meaning of an expression follows from its parts alone
Combinator libraries and their link to closure of operations from domain-driven design
Effects such as state, environment and control flow, continuations and hexagonal architecture

05Tools

This part puts the language you designed into a tool chain.

Parser and scanner generators: ANTLR, Bison, Parsec
Interpretation against code generation, formal semantics with PLT Redex and Ott
Host languages for embedded DSLs: Racket, Haskell, Ruby, Kotlin
Automated IDE support with DrRacket, Xtext, MPS or Spoofax

06Examples

To close, the course presents at least one language example.

Syntax, semantics, type system and tool chain seen together on one language
The curriculum deliberately leaves the kind and structure of the example open
The choice follows the domains the participants bring

Official syllabus

Outcome

What you will be able to do afterwards

01
You justify when a language of your own carries more than a library or a configuration format.
02
You design a grammar and choose between LL and LR parsing by the restrictions each imposes.
03
You separate concrete from abstract syntax and weigh a text format against projectional editors.
04
You describe your language semantics denotationally or operationally and record them semi-formally.
05
You pick the least powerful computation model that suffices and justify every deviation from it.
06
You design a type system with inference and test your language constructs for compositionality.
07
You generate parsers with ANTLR or Bison and decide between interpretation and code generation.

Credit points toward CPSA-A

Methodical competence: 20
Technical competence: 10
Communicative competence: 0

30 of 70 points toward CPSA-A admission

Open the Credit Planner iSAQB Board → Credit point rules Guide →

Certificate of participation

The tecnovy certificate of participation records your attendance of the DSL training, not a passed examination.

Open the Certificate Showroom tecnovy →

≥80%attendance

Trainers

Dr. Michael Sperber

iSAQB®

Why tecnovy

What you get on top with us

iSAQB® Accredited Provider

We are an officially accredited Training Provider of the International Software Architecture Qualification Board.

Certificate Showroom

Get your certificate of participation and, if you have one, add your exam certificate from E-Learning. Fully automated, beautifully designed. Just for you, only at tecnovy.

No Slideshow, Hands-On!

Promised: no PowerPoint marathon. We work in groups, tie theory to practice, and you get real project examples from our experienced trainers plus the exchange with like-minded people.

Attend Twice, Pay Once

You are welcome to attend the training online again within a year as a refresher.

Learn from Experts

We always guarantee you the use of didactically and methodically first-class qualified trainers who draw their knowledge from training experience as well as professional practical and project experience.

Flexible Date Change

If you are not able to attend the course, you can rebook your training free of charge up to one week before the start of the training.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

01Do I need CPSA-F to attend the tecnovy DSL training?

No. The iSAQB curriculum for the DSL module lists basics in formal grammars, regular expressions and types as prerequisites, not a certification. For the later CPSA-A certification, CPSA-F is mandatory.

02Is there a DSL examination?

No. There is no examination for the DSL module. The tecnovy DSL training earns you 30 credit points and a certificate of participation; the assessment comes later on the path to CPSA-A certification, and it covers all modules together.

03How many credit points does DSL carry?

The tecnovy DSL training carries 30 credit points: 20 methodical and 10 technical. DSL awards no communicative points, which matters for your planning: CPSA-A admission requires 70 points in total and at least 10 in each of the three areas of competence. The iSAQB may re-evaluate point allocations every 12 months; these figures are as of August 2026.

04How does the CPSA-A certification work?

CPSA-A certification consists of a written assignment. Two examiners recognised by the iSAQB assess it, and you then defend it in discussion with them. You can take it in German or English, and tecnovy is glad to help if you have questions about the process.

05How long is the DSL training?

The tecnovy DSL training runs for three days. The iSAQB curriculum sets a minimum of three days and 1080 teaching minutes, which is 18 hours, 360 of those minutes being exercises.

06What is the difference between DSL and DDD?

DSL builds the language itself: grammar, parser, semantics and type system, plus tools such as ANTLR, Bison and PLT Redex. DDD works on the ubiquitous language and the domain model, and spends 240 of its 1020 minutes on eliciting that model with domain experts, from interviews to EventStorming. The point split shows the difference plainly: DSL awards 20 methodical and 10 technical points, DDD 20 methodical and 10 communicative.

07Which tools does the DSL training work with?

The tecnovy DSL training works with parser and scanner generators such as ANTLR and Bison, with PLT Redex and Ott for formal semantics, and with Xtext, MPS or Spoofax for automated IDE support. The curriculum requires you to know at least one parser generator or embedded parser DSL; in the tecnovy DSL training you work with one hands-on during the exercise time, and which ones are used is the trainer's choice.

08Do we build a complete language during the training?

Not as a finished product. The iSAQB curriculum only requires that at least one example of a DSL be presented in every licensed course, and it deliberately leaves the type and structure of that example open. Of the 1080 curriculum minutes, 360 are exercise time. In the tecnovy DSL training you spend that exercise time on grammars and parsers of your own, and the example presented follows the domains the participants bring.

09Do I get the flipcharts from the DSL training?

Yes. The grammars, syntax trees and notes developed in the tecnovy DSL training reach you afterwards as a photo protocol of the flipcharts.

What does your training at tecnovy look like?

DSLDSL - Domain-Specific Languages

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