About BLDL

The Bergen Language Design Laboratory is dedicated to experimenting with software concepts and providing these as tool-supported language constructs. The constructs can be in the form of targeted domain specific languages or embedded in full-fledged modelling, specification or programming languages. This not only requires the competence to build language tools, but also the know-how to provide a formal basis for the constructs, thus also simplifying the tool work. Language experimentation is important in nailing down ideas for software concepts, and it also provides the means for gaining experience with these ideas in practice.

New ideas in this direction are needed to meet current challenges, ranging from safety issues for internet applications, clarity of business logic embedded in code, efficiency for high-performance applications, portability of software between multi-core and other architectures, quality of autonomous computing devices, to power consumption for computer game consoles.

The laboratory will foster an interaction between software development activities and language experimentation, in order to get feedback on how constructs function in practice - and also to get inspiration for new ideas.

BLDL's purpose is to do basic research, teaching and training of researchers in the design, implementation, description and specification of programming languages. Research areas include parsing, analysis, transformation and optimisation, and the design of novel language features.

To achieve these goals, BLDL will train students (bachelor, masters and PhD) in the areas of language engineering and use of modern language implementation and transformation technology, cooperate with industry in solving engineering problems through the use of language technology and domain-specific languages, and coordinate closely with international research partners through projects and exchange of staff and students.