  Language-orientated programming promises to elevate programmer productivity
through increased abstrac- tion capabilities. Structural programming
environments provide apparatus to reduce the difficulties with syntax. The
language workbench, a conceptual combination of these two approaches, is a
comparatively novel approach to software development and has so far been
attempted only in dynamic-dispatch, run-time-compiled languages (e.g. Java).
However, it must be remembered that several fields of engineering exist, each
having their own priorities. In the video games industry, where large, complex
and diverse projects are routinely developed, efficiency is paramount and as
such C++, as a development platform, is widely used. I explore the possibility
of a language workbench capable of a gradual transition in both skills and code
from the traditional C++ development environment. This article is the design
for a language workbench. It uses novel techniques including a
context-sensitive event- driven input system and a hybrid
single/multiple-inherited class model and through a prototype implementation
demon- strates that is both concise and practical for C++. I refute the
hitherto implicit hypothesis that the language workbench paradigm is not
applicable to the C++ language, showing that C++ can be used for creating an
effective development framework usable in otherwise pure-C++ programming
environments.
