Introduction

Before we dive in, this is an updated and more refined version of the DSL approach I shared in earlier posts. It now includes a richer set of features, enabling support for a wider range of scenarios. You can find the full DSL documentation at the link below.

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In the world of enterprise software, there’s a constant tug-of-war between flexibility and maintainability — especially when it comes to managing structured data and building complex UI forms. After working through years of pattern repetition, boilerplate, and disconnected validation logic, I’ve built something I believe bridges the gap:

A declarative, human-readable DSL (Domain-Specific Language) that lets you model both your data structures and interactive forms — in a way that is clean, scalable, and UI-framework agnostic.

This DSL is now live and fully documented — you can read the full reference and examples here:

👉 Read the DSL Documentation

What It Is

The system consists of two tightly integrated parts:

DSL Type	Purpose
data_model DSL	Define entities, fields, constraints, guards, and lifecycle logic
form DSL	Describe UI layout, logic, actions, styles, and templates

Together, they form the backbone of a low-code platform or developer-driven UI engine that:

• Keeps validation and business logic centralized
• Enables reusability through components and templates
• Makes forms reactive by default (without custom code)

Why I Built This

Modern platforms often suffer from one of two issues:

1. Tightly coupled UIs that are hard to maintain or reuse
2. Disconnected schemas and views that duplicate logic

I wanted to solve both problems by:

• Defining models and forms using a shared vocabulary
• Enabling templates, slots, and conditional logic as first-class citizens
• Making async behavior and validation declarative

Key Features

• ✅ Human-readable syntax with @, @@, ?, and EMPTY conventions
• ✅ Computed fields, validation guards, lifecycle triggers
• ✅ Layout primitives (HORIZONTAL_STACK, COLUMN, GRID)
• ✅ Full templating and slot support
• ✅ Conditionals (IF, ELSE IF, ELSE) and named logic
• ✅ Reactive view logic and state-driven style
• ✅ Async data loading with callback injection

Read the Full Guide

The DSL is fully documented with:

• ✅ Syntax reference for both data and form layers
• ✅ Code examples from minimal to enterprise-grade
• ✅ Best practices, patterns, and templating strategies
• ✅ Real-world layout and validation use cases
• ✅ A complete financial system example with Account + Transaction modeling

👉 Read the DSL Documentation

What’s Next?

This DSL lays the foundation for:

• A full visual low-code editor
• Schema-to-code generators
• DSL interpreters for different UI frameworks
• Rule engines that interact with the models dynamically

If you’re building enterprise software, low-code tools, or internal UI platforms — I think this DSL could change the way you think about forms and data models.