Domain-Specific Language
A Domain-Specific Language (DSL) is a programming language specialized for a particular application domain, such as SQL for database queries, HTML for web markup, or LaTeX for document typesetting. Unlike general-purpose languages like Python or Java, DSLs are designed to solve specific problems within a narrow context, often offering higher-level abstractions and more intuitive syntax for domain experts. They can be either external (standalone languages with their own syntax) or internal (embedded within a host language using its syntax).
Developers should learn and use DSLs when working in specialized domains where productivity, expressiveness, or collaboration with non-programmers is critical, such as in data analysis with SQL, configuration management with YAML, or scientific computing with MATLAB. They reduce boilerplate code, minimize errors by enforcing domain constraints, and allow domain experts to contribute directly without deep programming knowledge. However, they are less versatile than general-purpose languages and should be chosen based on the specific problem domain.