Editing Domain-specific language (section)

{{Short description|Computer language specialized to a particular set of requirements or functionality}}
A '''domain-specific language''' ('''DSL''') is a [[computer language]] specialized to a particular application [[Domain (software engineering)|domain]]. This is in contrast to a [[general-purpose language]] (GPL), which is broadly applicable across domains. There are a wide variety of DSLs, ranging from widely used languages for common domains, such as [[HTML]] for web pages, down to languages used by only one or a few pieces of software, such as [[MUSH]] soft code. DSLs can be further subdivided by the kind of language, and include domain-specific [[markup language|''markup'' languages]], domain-specific [[modeling language|''modeling'' languages]] (more generally, [[specification language]]s), and domain-specific [[programming language|''programming'' languages]]. Special-purpose computer languages have always existed in the computer age, but the term "domain-specific language" has become more popular due to the rise of [[domain-specific modeling]]. Simpler DSLs, particularly ones used by a single application, are sometimes informally called '''mini-languages'''.

The line between general-purpose languages and domain-specific languages is not always sharp, as a language may have specialized features for a particular domain but be applicable more broadly, or conversely may in principle be capable of broad application but in practice used primarily for a specific domain. For example, [[Perl]] was originally developed as a text-processing and glue language, for the same domain as [[AWK]] and [[shell script]]s, but was mostly used as a general-purpose programming language later on. By contrast, [[PostScript]] is a [[Turing-complete]] language, and in principle can be used for any task, but in practice is narrowly used as a [[page description language]].