Use Conventions to Improve Fluency
When designing DSLs we should aim for the syntax to read like a natural language or a data input file. DSLs should be fluent and not feel like old C or C++ code. The code should be easy for nonprogrammers to write and just about anyone to read.
Suppose our banking application’s DSL needs to process a series of transactions that are posted as a stream of data. An example stream of data may look like this:
| | account number 12345678 deposit 10025 |
| | account number 12345678 deposit 15045 |
There are no unnecessary elements in that data file—it’s plain, simple, and to the point. As it turns out, that’s 100% bonafide Kotlin syntax, except we have to apply some conventions and bend some rules just a little to get it working. ...
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