@Wolfgang: I agree, “curlies” are nice to group things and I regularly use them in my DSLs. I just wanted to show the two extremes. With respect to semicolons: I have become used to NOT using them in DSLs, as I feel the really add a lot of noise. Usually, you do not need them. It’s probaby a matter of taste

thanks for the article … I guess it is a good idea to make this subject an topic to discuss! I am sure that there is a lot to learn in future if the DSL hype continuous to grow like these days.

I fully understand and agree with your recommendations … but what do you think about curly braces to “group” things and semicolons as EOL Terminals?

E.g.

element Foo {
child Bar "Bar";
child Boo;
}

element Apples {
child Seeds "1200";
}

Maybe it is because I have a development background but this would feel and look fine for me … wheras without at least curly braces I would have the feeling that the structure is not obvious enough – any other thoughts?