Business-readable DSLs

I completely agree with Martin Fowler’s latest post:

The sweet spot, however is in making DSLs business-readable rather than business-writeable. If business people are able to look at the DSL code and understand it, then we can build a deep and rich communication channel between software development and the underlying domain.

[From MF Bliki: BusinessReadableDSL]

We’re getting close to a point where code can be written in a language that a non-programmer could readily understand. I’m most excited about JetBrains’ Meta Programming System. I think it has the best chance of being the first IDE that people really understand and can use for exactly the purposes that Martin describes.

Even better? JetBrains released their first beta of MPS just a few days ago! If you’re tried it out, please let me know what you think. I’ve been watching MPS for a while now and am really excited, but I just don’t have the time yet to take an in-depth look.