ADSL: An auditory domain specification language for program auralization

Abstract

ADSL (Auditory Domain Specification Language) is a program auralization specification language which encourages users to actively diagnose software bugs as opposed to just monitoring predetermined known program events. Instead of focusing on individual program lines, users specify general domains of program information, called tracks, by using a customizable specification language. Based on the set of component tracks chosen, different sound domains are heard during program execution. The customized tracks can be rehed or enlarged, forming an abstract continuum of auditory information. A preprocessor parses a user's source code, compares it with a specification file, and places the necessary audio routines. Tracks can be modulated by variables or other tracks along various sound dimensions, allowing for a sigdcant increase in auditory information.