Xtext project and PhDs in Gemany

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 1 Xtext: Eclipse-based
framework for defining Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) Thomas Baar [email protected] (temporary *) NSU Tech Talk; Akademgorodok, 2015-11-24 Guest Lecturer at: Home University: * My stay at Novosibirsk State University is supported by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 2 Domain-Specific Language
(DSL) A DSL is a notation for expressing observations, facts, algorithms in an elegant way. The notation can be - textual - graphical - table-oriented or a mixture of the above.

(DSL) Compared to general-purpose modeling languages (e.g. UML) or programming languages (e.g. Java), DSLs have usually a (much) less complex syntax while being expressive enough for the domains they target!

(DSL) Compared to general-purpose modeling languages (e.g. UML) or programming languages (e.g. Java), DSLs have usually a (much) less complex syntax while being expressive enough for the domains they target! Domain-specific models/programs are typically less complex than models/programs written in a general purpose language. Thus, they are easier to understand and to maintain.

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 5 DSL Examples
Domain Typesetting Language Latex Source: Britannica kids. kid.eb.com

Domain Automatic Software Build Language make

Domain Chemistry Language Mendeleev's periodic system of chemical elements

Domain Process Description Language Harel's statecharts

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 9 - Что
такое? • Eclipse-framework for defining textual DSLs - actually, Xtext is the heart of Eclipse bundle "Eclipse for Java and DSL developers"

такое? • Eclipse-framework for defining textual DSLs - actually, Xtext is the heart of Eclipse bundle "Eclipse for Java and DSL developers" • Open source, but professionally developed and maintained by start-up company Itemis (Kiel, Germany) - matured code, release 2.9 expected early Dec 2015 - nice documentation/tutorials - active forum, fast bug-fixes

такое? • Eclipse-framework for defining textual DSLs - actually, Xtext is the heart of Eclipse bundle "Eclipse for Java and DSL developers" • Open source, but professionally developed and maintained by start-up company Itemis (Kiel, Germany) - matured code, release 2.9 expected early Dec 2015 - nice documentation/tutorials - active forum, fast bug-fixes • Very informative website www.eclipse.org/xtext - short video tutorials explaining each editor feature - links to what community has implemented using Xtext

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 12 Xtext: Mission
& Workflow Mission: Make the Definition and Usage of textual DSLs as easy as possible.

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 13 Overview on
DSL Definition DSL-Part Defined in Purpose Grammar EBNF-inspired Grammar language specify lexer, parser Validator Xtend * filter out non-intended input models; trigger error- markers in editor Scope definitions Xtend resolve cross-references Editor configurations (Overview pane, content assist/auto-completion, font-selection, tooltips, etc.) Xtend adjust editor features Code generator Xtend specify code generator Tests Xtend execute test cases for lexer, parser, validator, scope provider, editor, eclipse integration, etc. * Xtend - An extension of Java invented from Xtext-team in order to make typical programming tasks (e.g. AST traversion, code templates) much easier.

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 14 More detailed
DSL-Definition Workflow

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 15 Example Project
Beans

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 16 A Simple
Example: Beans -- Create an Xtext Project --

Example: Beans -- Define the Grammar --

Example: Beans -- Define the Grammar -- Header Start Rule Feature in generated EMF class Cross-reference Keyword Optional Occurence

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 19 Xtext is
build on top of the parser generator ANTLR. For the above grammar, much longer input files for ANTLR have been generated (299 LOC, 24 LOC). A Simple Example: Beans -- Define the Grammar -- Header Start Rule Feature in generated EMF class Cross-reference Keyword Optional Occurence The formalism for defining a grammar is a DSL! This DSL has been implemented by Xtext itself ;-)

Example: Beans -- Testing the Parser using JUnit -- Pre-defined helper classes String templates (enclosed by ''' ) Extension method (actually defined in ParserHelper and not in String)

Example: Beans -- Adding a Validator: Making the syntax more precise -- class BeansDslValidator extends AbstractBeansDslValidator { public static val INVALID_NAME = 'invalidName' @Check def checkBeannameStartsWithCapital(Bean bean) { if (!Character.isUpperCase(bean.name.charAt(0))) { error('Name must start with a capital', BeansDslPackage.Literals.BEAN__NAME, INVALID_NAME ) } } } Mark input text as erroneous under certain circumstances

Example: Beans -- Testing the Validator using JUnit --

Example: Beans -- Enjoy the Editor :-) -- Content assist (aka auto-completion) Grammar error (missing ';') Validation error (no capital letter)

Example: Beans -- Specify a Code Generator using Xtend -- class BeansDslGenerator implements IGenerator { override void doGenerate(Resource resource, IFileSystemAccess fsa) { resource.allContents.toIterable.filter(typeof(Bean)).forEach[ fsa.generateFile('''beans/«name».java''', compile) ] } def compile(Bean bean) { ''' public class «bean.name» «IF bean.superType != null»extends «bean.superType.name» «EN «FOR att : bean.attributes» private «att.type.typeToString» «att.name»; «ENDFOR» «FOR att : bean.attributes» public «att.type.typeToString» get«att.name.toFirstUpper»() { return «att.name»; } public void set«att.name.toFirstUpper»(«att.type.typeToString» _arg) { this.«att.name» = _arg; } «ENDFOR» } '''} def typeToString(BasicType type) { if (type.literal.equals("string")) "String" else type} } Output written in .java file Each bean becomes a Java class Each bean attribute is mapped to Java attribute, getter- and setter- method

Example: Beans -- Enjoy the Code Generator :-) -- One input file (written in our DSL) Location of generated artifacts Three output files (written in target language)

Example: Beans -- Testing Code Generator using JUnit -- class BeansGeneratorTests { @Rule @Inject public TemporaryFolder temporaryFolder @Inject extension CompilationTestHelper @Inject extension ReflectExtensions @Test def void testTwoCompiledClasses() { ''' bean Person{string name;} bean Student extends Person{ boolean isMaster; studentID; // implicitely typed as int } } '''.compile [ getCompiledClass("Person").assertNotNull getCompiledClass("Student").assertNotNull ] } } both classes has been compiled successfully

Example: Beans -- Testing Code Generator using JUnit -- @Test def void playWithGeneratedJavaCode() { ''' bean Person{string name;} bean Student extends Person{ boolean isMaster; studentID; // implicitely typed as int } } '''.compile [ getCompiledClass("Student").newInstance => [ assertNull(it.invoke("getName")) val aName = "Johnson" it.invoke("setName", aName) // invoking inherit method assertEquals(aName, it.invoke("getName")) val anInt = 1234 it.invoke("setStudentID", anInt) assertEquals(anInt, it.invoke("getStudentID")) ] ] } create instance of Student and invoke setter/getter by reflection

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 28 Summary •
Differences of domain-specific and general-purpose languages • Short overview on purpose and architecture of Xtext • Gone through small example (hopefully) showing the efficiency gain

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 29 Summary •
Differences of domain-specific and general-purpose languages • Short overview on purpose and architecture of Xtext • Gone through small example (hopefully) showing the efficiency gain Try it out by yourself! Xtext is very versatile and stable.

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, The framework Xtext. 2015-11-24 30 Thank you!

T.Baar: NSU TechTalk, Writing a PhD Thesis in Germany. 2015-11-24
1 How to write a PhD thesis in Germany Thomas Baar [email protected] (temporary *) NSU Tech Talk; Akademgorodok, 2015-11-24 Guest Lecturer at: Home University: * My stay at Novosibirsk State University is supported by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

2 What do you like Germany for? Source of map: "Deutschland topo" by Botaurus-stellaris - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deutschland_topo.jpg#/media/File:Deutschland_topo.jpg

3 What do you like Germany for? Source of map: "Deutschland topo" by Botaurus-stellaris - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deutschland_topo.jpg#/media/File:Deutschland_topo.jpg Cultural heritage (literature, music, architecture) Social welfare Innovative companies High-quality products („Made in (West-)Germany“) Efficiency German beer :-)

4 Up-/Downsides of Efficiency

5 Up-/Downsides of Efficiency Ups - high wages - cheap products/food - as a country: strong economic position (much more export than import)

6 Up-/Downsides of Efficiency Ups - high wages - cheap products/food - as a country: strong economic position (much more export than import) Downs - high unemployment rate - expensive workplaces  do not call a craftsman ... - high pressure on employees  Diesel Gate at VW

7 Efficiency also in Academia • Comparing Student/Employee ratio of - Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) Berlin  University of Applied Sciences - Humboldt-University (HU) Berlin - Novosibirsk State University (NSU) 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 HTW Berlin HU Berlin NSU Size of Universities Employees Students

8 Efficiency also in Academia • Comparing Student/Employee ratio of - Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) Berlin  University of Applied Sciences - Humboldt-University (HU) Berlin - Novosibirsk State University (NSU) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 HTW Berlin HU Berlin NSU Students per Employee 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 HTW Berlin HU Berlin NSU Size of Universities Employees Students

9 Efficiency also in Academia • Comparing Student/Employee ratio of - Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) Berlin  University of Applied Sciences - Humboldt-University (HU) Berlin - Novosibirsk State University (NSU) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 HTW Berlin HU Berlin NSU Students per Employee 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 HTW Berlin HU Berlin NSU Size of Universities Employees Students This is the paradise !!!

10 My Career 1990-97 Study of Computer Science at HU Berlin 1997-99 Research Assistent at HU Berlin 1999 How to continue? Hard decision! 1999-03 Doctoral Student at University of Karlsruhe (today: KIT) 2003-07 Post-Doc, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland 2007-11 Senior Engineer in small software company, Berlin 2011 -- Professor at HTW Berlin

11 My Period of Writing PhD Thesis • 2 years preliminary research work at HU Berlin • my group in Karlsruhe - 2 professors - 2 post-docs - 4 phd students  funding from DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft): salary, equipement, travelling  basically no teaching obligations - appr. 5-10 student assistents

12 My Period of Writing PhD Thesis • 2 years preliminary research work at HU Berlin • my group in Karlsruhe - 2 professors - 2 post-docs - 4 phd students  funding from DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft): salary, equipement, travelling  basically no teaching obligations - appr. 5-10 student assistents We have the worst PhD supervisor ever, because he does not supervise us!

13 My Period of Writing PhD Thesis • 2 years preliminary research work at HU Berlin • my group in Karlsruhe - 2 professors - 2 post-docs - 4 phd students  funding from DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft): salary, equipement, travelling  basically no teaching obligations - appr. 5-10 student assistents We have the worst PhD supervisor ever, because he does not supervise us! We have the best PhD supervisor ever, because he does not supervise us!

14 How to find open Research Position? • Ask your professor/supervisor here in Nsk - people meet at conferences/workshops and disseminate open positions • Go to www.academics.de - offers alert service - informative links

15 Types of PhD Positions • assistent position at university (Landesstelle) + contract extension no problem - sometimes time-consuming teaching obligations • research position at university (e.g. DFG financed) + focus on research; no teaching - sometimes hard to get project extension • position at research institute (Fraunhofer, Leibniz) + working on industry problems - overloaded with work to reach next milestone • research position in industry (Daimler Benz, Siemens) + working on industry problems - no strong supervision; danger to become 'ordinary' project member

16 Initiative for Academic Excellence • Initiated by chancellor Gerhard Schröder Idea: Universities and clusters can apply for special status "Place of Excellence" - selected universities get huge research money from Federal budget - highly competitive (only 5-10 universities got status) - only already renowned universities have chance to become successful Rational: Germany wants to "become better" in world- wide rankings

17 Consequences of Excellence Initiative • currently a lot of money "in the system" • many interesting projects • a lot of open positions :-) - also due to the current very good job market  many talented graduates go to industry

18 Consequences of Excellence Initiative • currently a lot of money "in the system" • many interesting projects • a lot of open positions :-) - also due to the current very good job market  many talented graduates go to industry !!! However !!! - still only non-permanent positions - becoming a professor after PhD project became even more difficult (due to many qualified colleages that completed PhD as well)

19 Will I have enough money to survive? • as a PhD student: no fees to be paid

20 Will I have enough money to survive? • as a PhD student: no fees to be paid • Salary usually according to Tv-L 13: currently 3500 € per month - from this appr. 50% reduction for taxes, health insurance, pension plan - !Attention! some research projects offer only 50% jobs  "officially" 50% workload, but for sure only 50% payment

21 Will I have enough money to survive? • as a PhD student: no fees to be paid • Salary usually according to Tv-L 13: currently 3500 € per month - from this appr. 50% reduction for taxes, health insurance, pension plan - !Attention! some research projects offer only 50% jobs  "officially" 50% workload, but for sure only 50% payment • Some prices: - lunch in cafeteria: appr. 4 € - food from supermarket: appr. 150 € per month - 1-room flat in Berlin: from 400 € per month

22 Final Recommendations • Do not worry about German language skills - helpful in private life, but not mandatory at university • my favourite position: research at university with professor having 3-4 PhD students • getting an 1-year-contract initially is rather normal • publications - do not wait too long with your first one - write only if you found out something worth to be told - also read books/articles on "How to write a good paper?/How to give a good talk?"

23 Final Recommendations Prof. Tom Henzinger: „Strive always to be as good as you can!“ (when writing applications,writing papers, giving talks)

24 Thank you!

Xtext project and PhDs in Gemany

Xtext project and PhDs in Gemany

More Decks by Tech Talks @NSU

Other Decks in Education

Featured

Transcript