We present PPML, a domain-specific programming language for parallel particle and particle-mesh simulations. PPML provides a concise set of high-level abstractions for particle methods that significantly reduce implementation times for parallel particle simulations. The PPML compiler translates PPML code into standard Fortran 2003 code, which can then be compiled and linked against the PPM runtime library using any Fortran 2003 compiler. We describe PPML and the PPML compiler, and provide examples of its use in both continuous and discrete particle methods.