Pulse, Parse, and Ponder: Using Invisible XML to Dissect a Scientific Domain Specific Language

This paper explores the application of Invisible XML (iXML) to parse the Bruker Pulse Programming Language, a domain specific language for controlling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers. Making the specialized file formats and programming languages used in many scientific fields more accessible and interpretable could help to improve scientific reproducibility and utility. The development of a grammar for Bruker pulse code, simultaneously facilitates easier and more automated comparison and analysis of NMR experiments and serves as a test bed for the relatively young iXML approach to parsing. We discuss the challenges faced and solutions developed for applying iXML to this problem.