A framework for the verification of UML models. Examples using Petri Nets

This is an electronic version of the paper presented at the VIII Jornadas de Ingeniería del Software y Bases de Datos, held in Alicante on 2003This paper presents a framework for the verification of UML models. Our approach is to build meta-models for the different UML diagrams and translate them into formalisms (whose syntax is also specified with a meta-model) in which properties of interest can be proved. The translation (denotational semantics) as well as the formalisms operational semantics are formally described by means of graph grammars. We show the implementation of these concepts in the Multi-Paradigm tool AToM3 together with an example in which we translate a UML design (composed of Statecharts, Class and Sequence diagrams) into Petri nets for subsequent verification using model checkingPartially sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (TIC2002-01948

Aspect-Oriented Programming

Aspect-oriented programming is a promising idea that can improve the quality of software by reduce the problem of code tangling and improving the separation of concerns. At ECOOP'97, the first AOP workshop brought together a number of researchers interested in aspect-orientation. At ECOOP'98, during the second AOP workshop the participants reported on progress in some research topics and raised more issues that were further discussed. \ud \ud This year, the ideas and concepts of AOP have been spread and adopted more widely, and, accordingly, the workshop received many submissions covering areas from design and application of aspects to design and implementation of aspect languages

On UML statechart with variabilities

El uso de métodos formales para el diseño de software contribuye a la confiabilidad y robustez del sistema a construir. A medida que los sistemas se vuelven complejos, el enfoque formal es esencial, debido a que permite la demostrabilidad y verificabilidad del diseño. El diseño formal es un proceso que comienza con la etapa de especificación, en la cual el sistema es de nido utilizando un lenguaje de modelado; luego la etapa de verificación, en la cual el sistema es analizado mediante un enfoque de corrección basado en pruebas formales utilizando herramientas matemá ticas y, por último, la etapa de implementación, en la cual la especificación se convierte en código ejecutable. El Lenguaje de Modelado Unificado (UML por sus siglas en inglés) es un lenguaje específico ampliamente utilizado en la industria y la academia. Desafortunadamente, carece de una semántica formal que permita el desarrollo de modelos utilizando un enfoque de corrección basado en pruebas formales. Este trabajo se centra en la especificación formal de familias de sistemas, y, en particular, en la semán- tica de máquinas de estados de UML (UML Statecharts) con variabilidades y sus aplicaciones a líneas de productos de software. La principal contribución es la definición de un formalismo que permite modelar el comportamiento de una familia de sistemas. Tal comportamiento se describe utilizando UML Statecharts en combinación con Diagramas de funcionalidades (Feature Diagrams), con el fin de representar las funcionalidades comunes y variantes de una familia. Para ello se define una relación de orden entre los UML Statecharts, que representa el hecho de que un statechart posee una estructura mas rica que otro. Luego se defi ne con precisión la forma de combinar diferentes extensiones de un mismo statechart. Utilizando estos conceptos, es posible definir el efecto que cada funcionalidad tiene en los productos en los cuales se encuentra presente.Estas definiciones proporcionan una forma muy simple de obtener la especificación del comportamiento de un producto de la línea como la combinación de los UML Statecharts que implementan todas las funcionalidades presentes en un producto en particular. Mas aún, se prueba que la relación de extensión propuesta constituye un refinamiento de comportamiento. El presente enfoque se compara con el estado del arte y se estudia su aplicación práctica con el n de visualizar sus bene cios y posibles debilidades. Adicionalmente, con el fin de comprobar la adecuación de la propuesta, una gran parte de las ideas fueron implementadas en un prototipo utilizando Prolog

Management and Object Behavior of Statecharts through Statechart DNA

We propose composed strings called ”statechart DNA” as essential building blocks for a new statechart (sc) abstraction method. We define the simplified statechart (ssc) and show that our definition covers the UML 2.0 sc model, by matching it to all model elements of the StateMachine package of the UML 2.0 metamodel and to the OCL constraints on these model elements. A Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is defined, inspired by a PIM-to- PIM model transformation procedure between UML sc models and ssc models. We discuss the rationale behind action abstraction in ssc models. This framework is used to isolate sc DNA, first in ssc models, then in UML sc models. We show how sc DNA, a compaction of sc construction primitives, can be used to define behavior model metrics and more generally, to manage and maintain evolving object behavior. State machine versioning is an important application of statechart DNA to manage industrial model repositories

A formal framework to prove the correctness of model driven engineering composition operators

International audienceCurrent trends in system engineering combine modeling, composition and verification technologies in order to harness their ever growing complexity. Each composition operator dedicated to a different modeling concern should be proven to be property preserving at assembly time. These proofs are usually burdensome with repetitive aspects. Our work targets the factorisation of these aspects relying on primitive generic composition operators used to express more sophisticated language specific ones. These operators are defined for languages expressed with OMG MOF metamodeling technologies. The proof are done with the Coq proof assistant relying on the Coq4MDE framework defined previously. These basic operators, Union and Substitution, are illustrated using the MOF Package Merge as composition operator and the preservation of model conformance as verified property

Termination Criteria for Model Transformation

Nowadays the usage of model transformations in software engineering has become widespread. Considering current trends in software development such as model driven development (MDD), there is an emerging need to develop model manipulations such as model evolution and optimisation, semantics definition, etc. If a model transformation is described in a precise way, it can be analysed lateron. Models, especially visual models, can be described best by graphs, due to their multi-dimensional extension. Graphs can be manipulated by graph transformation in a rule-based manner. Thus, we specify model transformation by graph transformation. This approach offers visual and formal techniques in such a way that model transformations can be subjects to analysis. Various results on graph transformation can be used to prove important properties of model transformations such as its functional behaviour, a basic property for computations. Moreover, certain kinds of syntactical and semantical consistency properties can be shown on this formal basis