A Conceptual Framework of Research on Visual Language Specification Languages

Visual languages make use of spatial arrangements of graphical and textual elements to represent information. Domain specific diagrams, including flow charts and music sheets, are examples of visual languages. An established area of research is the study of languages which can be used to create declarative specifications of visual languages. In this paper, the result of a review of research on visual language specification languages is presented. Specifically, a structured literature review is conducted to establish research themes by analysing what has been studied in the context of specification languages. The result of the literature review is used to develop a conceptual framework that consists of six research themes with related topics. Additionally, discussions on how the conceptual framework can be used as a basis to guide research in the field of specification languages, to perform feature based characterisations and to create lists of criteria to evaluate and compare specification languages are included in this paper.