title: Textual representation for UML class diagrams - DSL for UML
body: <p>UML classdiagrams are a standard graphical notation to describe classes and their relationships.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a <em>standard</em> textual notation (DSL) to describe the same? Don't say XMI or EMF;-)</p>
  
  <p>I think you could do that with Corba IDL and use Interfaces for classes, but this is somehow too much on the Corba side. You could use Java Interfaces, but this is too Java.</p>
  
  <p>Background of my question is writing generators. I think it is easier to write a generator based on the syntax tree of a DSL than to parse a graphical notation. A graphical notation first has to be translated into a syntax tree (that would be the same you'd get from the corresponding DSL). I think translating a graphical notation into the syntax tree is harder than to translate a DSL (where you can use ANTLR).</p>