Who Defines a Language?

Anyone can define a language, but for the purposes of discussion, we can divide them into five groups:

  • Standards bodies

  • Tool vendors

  • Methodology definers

  • MDA architects

  • Developers

Standards bodies, such as the OMG, define languages so that their other standards can have increased usage. An example is the UML profile for CORBA, which describes how to use a subsetted and extended UML that can be transformed into CORBA implementations. (In addition to common platforms such as CORBA, domain-specific task forces also meet within the context of standards bodies to establish a common vocabulary or a common language.) When there's a standard language, users don't need to work this out for themselves each time, and tool vendors can ...

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