[Grace-interest] CfP: Journal of Systems and Software - Special Issue on Software Language Engineering

[Andrei Chis]

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions for the Journal of Systems and Software Special
Issue on «Software Language Engineering». This special issue is
related to the 2022 edition of the Software Language Engineering
Conference (https://2022.splashcon.org/home/sle-2022?) but **it is
open to all authors.**

Details follow.

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Journal of Systems and Software
Software Language Engineering Special Issue

Guest Editors

● Lola Burgueño, University of Malaga, Spain
● Walter Cazzola, Professor, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
● Dimitris Kolovos, Professor, University of York, United Kingdom

Special issue information:

With the ubiquity of computers, software has become the dominating
intellectual asset of our time. In turn, this software depends on
software languages, namely the languages it is written in, the
languages used to describe its environment, and the languages driving
its development process. Given that everything depends on software and
that software depends on software languages, it seems fair to say that
for many years to come, everything will depend on software languages.

Software language engineering (SLE) is the discipline of engineering
languages and their tools required for the creation of software. It
abstracts from the differences between programming languages, modeling
languages, and other software languages, and emphasizes the
engineering facet of the creation of such languages, that is, the
establishment of the scientific methods and practices that enable the
best results. While SLE is certainly driven by its meta-circular
character (software languages are engineered using software
languages), SLE is not self-satisfying: its scope extends to the
engineering of languages for all and everything.

This special issue will represent a further step in identification,
definition and tooling of software languages.

Topics of interest related to the special issue, but are not limited to:

● Software Language Design and Implementation
   ○ Approaches to and methods for language design
   ○ Static semantics (e.g. design rules, well-formedness constraints)
   ○ Techniques for specifying behavioral / executable semantics
   ○ Generative approaches (incl. code synthesis, compilation)
   ○ Meta-languages, meta-tools, language workbenches
● Software Language Validation
   ○ Verification and formal methods for languages
   ○ Testing techniques for languages
   ○ Simulation techniques for languages
● Software Language Integration and Composition
   ○ Coordination of heterogeneous languages and tools
   ○ Mappings between languages (incl. transformation languages)
   ○ Traceability between languages
   ○ Deployment of languages to different platforms
● Software Language Maintenance
   ○ Software language reuse
   ○ Language evolution
   ○ Language families and variability, language and software product lines
   ○ Domain-specific approaches for any aspects of SLE (design,
implementation, validation, maintenance)
● Empirical evaluation and experience reports of language engineering tools
   ○ User studies evaluating usability
   ○ Performance benchmarks
   ○ Industrial applications
● Synergies between Language Engineering and emerging/promising research areas
   ○ AI and ML language engineering (e.g., ML compiler testing, code
classification)
   ○ Quantum language engineering (e.g., language design for quantum machines)
● Language engineering for physical systems (e.g., CPS, IoT, digital twins)
   ○ Socio-technical systems and language engineering (e.g., language
evolution to adapt to social requirements)

Manuscript submission information:

Proposed Dates and Outcomes
● Submission: 15 February 2023
● Notification to authors (first round): 15 April 2023
● Submission of revised papers (second round): 15 June 2023
● Notification to authors (second round): 15 August 2023
● Submission after second review: 15 October 2023
● Final acceptance: 15 November 2023
● Date of publication: 15 December 2023

Submission Guidelines

The call for this special issue is an open call. We invite innovative
research with a sound scientific or technological basis and
validation. We accept submissions of original and previously
unpublished manuscripts and we especially encourage the submission of
revised and extended papers from the 15th ACM SIGPLAN International
Conference on Software Language Engineering (SLE 2022). If a previous
version of the manuscript has been published in a conference or
journal, then authors must explicitly explain the novelty of this new
submission and provide at least 30% new material. Surveys, literature
reviews and mapping studies would not be considered as part of this
special issue.

All manuscripts and any supplementary material should be submitted
through the Elsevier Editorial System at
https://www.editorialmanager.com/jssoftware/default1.aspx. Follow the
submission instructions given on this site. During the submission
process, select the article type "VSI:SLE" from the "Choose Article
Type" pull-down menu. All submissions must adhere to the general
principles of the Journal of Systems and Software articles.
Submissions have to be prepared according to the Guide for Authors,
available on the journal website, and must follow the format specified
in the JSS Guide for Authors
https://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-systems-and-software/0164-1212/guide-for-authors.
For more information about the special issue, please contact the guest editors.