23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 , wherein the method for constructing syntax-directed search and modifications in program transformation systems further comprises: providing a reference to a matched syntax structure of the source code representation.
22. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for constructing syntax-directed search and modifications in program transformation systems, the method comprising: compiling a program, generated using a language specified by a grammar into an executable, the language including at least one command for specifying any of searching, matching, and modifying operations on a source code representation using a syntax structure specification; and executing the executable on the source code representation to generate a target code representation, the executable configured to preserve format information of the source code representation by using program representations that preserve both syntax and formatting information of programs, wherein the executing comprises: searching based on the syntax structure specification and match criteria to match every occurrence of a syntax name in the source code representation, when only the syntax name is specified in the syntax structure specification.