Termination of Algebraic Rewriting with Inhibitors

We proceed with the study of termination properties in the double pushout approach to algebraic rewriting, and show a concrete termination criterion for rewriting systems with inhibitors. Inhibitors prevent elements in an algebra to participate in rule matches, so that termination depends only on whether new possibilities for matches are created. The notion of inhibitor can be extended to considering different levels of inhibition, by which the ability of an element to participate in a match is progressively reduced. We illustrate the approach by considering some application contexts in model transformation

Using Semantic Anchoring to Verify Behavior Preservation in Graph Transformations

Graph transformation is often used to transform domain models from one domain specific language (DSML) to another. In some cases, the DSMLs are based on a formalism that has many implementation variants, such as Statecharts. For instance, it could be necessary to transform iLogix Statechart models into Matlab Stateflow models. The preservation of behavior of the models is crucial in such transformations. Bisimulation has previously been demonstrated as an approach to verifying behavior preservation, and semantic anchoring is an approach to specifying the dynamic semantics of DSMLs. We propose a method to verify behavior preservation, using bisimulation in conjunction with semantic anchoring. We will consider two hypothetical variants of the Statecharts formalism, and specify the operational semantics of each variant by semantic anchoring, using Abstract State Machines as a common semantic framework. We then establish bisimulation properties to verify if the behavior models of the source and target Statechart models are equivalent for a particular execution of the transformation

Model Instantiation and Type Checking in UMLX

OMG's MDA initiative encourages the use of meta-model based transformations and re-usable specifications. We discuss how Graphical Transformation Notations such as UMLX reduce opportunities for errors in this programming domain

A Model Transformation for Automated Concrete Syntax Definitions of Metamodeled Visual Languages

Metamodeling techniques are popular in describing the rules of special domains, but these techniques do not support defining presentation for these domains , namely the concrete syntax. The aim of our research is to provide a method to create the concrete syntax for metamodeling systems in a flexible, efficient way. Several domain-specific languages have been created that support defining the concrete syntax, i.e. the visualization. The main concern of this paper is to present a model transformation method that processes our presentation definitions and transforms them automatically into source code. The source code implements a plug-in capable of editing the models. A termination analysis for the presented method is also provided

Search Trees for Distributed Graph Transformation Systems

Graph transformation systems, like PROGRES and Fujaba, can be used for modeling software systems of various domains, and support the automatic generation of executable code. A graph transformation rule is executed only if the pattern of the transformation's left-hand side is found in the graph. The search for the pattern has an exponential worst-case complexity. In many cases, the average complexity can be reduced using search tree algorithms in the code generation phase. When modeling distributed graph transformations, the communication overhead between the coupled applications largely affects the pattern matching performance. Therefore, we present an approach for adapting existing search tree algorithms for the efficient search of distributed graph patterns. Our algorithm divides the distributed graph pattern into several sub-patterns such that every sub-pattern affects solely the graph of exactly one coupled application. The results of these sub-patterns are used to determine the match for the entire graph pattern

Towards Translating Graph Transformation Approaches by Model Transformations

Recently, many researchers are working on semantics preserving model transformation. In the field of graph transformation one can think of translating graph grammars written in one approach to a behaviourally equivalent graph grammar in another approach. In this paper we translate graph grammars developed with the GROOVE tool to AGG graph grammars by first investigating the set of core graph transformation concepts supported by both tools. Then, we define what it means for two graph grammars to be behaviourally equivalent, and for the regarded approaches we actually show how to handle different definitions of both - application conditions and graph structures. The translation itself is explained by means of intuitive examples