Event-driven grammars: Relating abstract and concrete levels of visual languages

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10270-007-0051-2In this work we introduce event-driven grammars, a kind of graph grammars that are especially suited for visual modelling environments generated by meta-modelling. Rules in these grammars may be triggered by user actions (such as creating, editing or connecting elements) and in their turn may trigger other user-interface events. Their combination with triple graph transformation systems allows constructing and checking the consistency of the abstract syntax graph while the user is building the concrete syntax model, as well as managing the layout of the concrete syntax representation. As an example of these concepts, we show the definition of a modelling environment for UML sequence diagrams. A discussion is also presented of methodological aspects for the generation of environments for visual languages with multiple views, its connection with triple graph grammars, the formalization of the latter in the double pushout approach and its extension with an inheritance concept.This work has been partially sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science with projects MOSAIC (TSI2005-08225-C07-06) and MODUWEB (TIN 2006-09678)

Supporting user-oriented analysis for multi-view domain-specific visual languages

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Information and Software Technology. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2008 Elsevier B.V.The integration of usable and flexible analysis support in modelling environments is a key success factor in Model-Driven Development. In this paradigm, models are the core asset from which code is automatically generated, and thus ensuring model correctness is a fundamental quality control activity. For this purpose, a common approach is to transform the system models into formal semantic domains for verification. However, if the analysis results are not shown in a proper way to the end-user (e.g. in terms of the original language) they may become useless. In this paper we present a novel DSVL called BaVeL that facilitates the flexible annotation of verification results obtained in semantic domains to different formats, including the context of the original language. BaVeL is used in combination with a consistency framework, providing support for all steps in a verification process: acquisition of additional input data, transformation of the system models into semantic domains, verification, and flexible annotation of analysis results. The approach has been validated analytically by the cognitive dimensions framework, and empirically by its implementation and application to several DSVLs. Here we present a case study of a notation in the area of Digital Libraries, where the analysis is performed by transformations into Petri nets and a process algebra.Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and MODUWEB

Specification and Construction of Control Flow Semantics

In this paper we propose a visual language CFSL for specifying control flow semantics of programming languages. We also present a translation from CFSL to graph production systems (GPS) for flow graph construction; that is, any CFSL specification, say for a language L, gives rise to a GPS that constructs from any L-program (represented as an abstract syntax graph) the corresponding flow graph. The specification language is rich enough to capture complex language constructs, including all of Java

EMorF - A tool for model transformations

In this paper, we present EMorF - a model transformation tool for EMF. EMorF supports the specification and execution of in-place model transformations as well as model-to-model transformations. The graphical though formal specification is based on (triple-) graph grammars, which are executed by an interpreter system. Inthis paper, we focus on the provided tool support for the development and execution of model transformations

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

Automating the transformation-based analysis of visual languages

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00165-009-0114-yWe present a novel approach for the automatic generation of model-to-model transformations given a description of the operational semantics of the source language in the form of graph transformation rules. The approach is geared to the generation of transformations from Domain-Specific Visual Languages (DSVLs) into semantic domains with an explicit notion of transition, like for example Petri nets. The generated transformation is expressed in the form of operational triple graph grammar rules that transform the static information (initial model) and the dynamics (source rules and their execution control structure). We illustrate these techniques with a DSVL in the domain of production systems, for which we generate a transformation into Petri nets. We also tackle the description of timing aspects in graph transformation rules, and its analysis through their automatic translation into Time Petri netsWork sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, project METEORIC (TIN2008-02081/TIN) and by the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Towards the uniform manipulation of visual and textual languages in AToM3

This is an electronic version of the paper presented at the III Jornadas de Programación y Lenguajes, held in Alicante on 2003This paper presents the approach taken in the multi-paradigm tool AToM3 for the integration of textual and visual languages in a uniform framework. The tool is used for the modelling, analysis and simulation of complex (physical or software) systems, where each system component may have to be described using a different formalism. The different visual or textual formalisms can be described in the form of meta-models using graphical, high-level notations such as Entity Relationship or UML class diagrams. From these descriptions, AToM3 is able to generate a customized modelling tool for the specified formalism. Models at any meta-level are stored as attributed, typed graphs and thus can be manipulated (simulated, transformed, optimized, etc.) by attributed graph grammars. In the case of a textual notation, from the meta-model description a front-end parser is semi-automatically generated that transforms the textual models into abstract syntax graphs (instances of the meta-model), and thus can be manipulated in a uniform way with the other visual notations. To illustrate these concepts, we present an example in which we define a meta-model for Computational Tree Logic and generate visual and textual parsers for the formalism.We would like to aknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (project TIC2002-01948) for partially supporting this work

A UML/OCL framework for the analysis of fraph transformation rules

In this paper we present an approach for the analysis of graph transformation rules based on an intermediate OCL representation. We translate different rule semantics into OCL, together with the properties of interest (like rule applicability, conflicts or independence). The intermediate representation serves three purposes: (i) it allows the seamless integration of graph transformation rules with the MOF and OCL standards, and enables taking the meta-model and its OCL constraints (i.e. well-formedness rules) into account when verifying the correctness of the rules; (ii) it permits the interoperability of graph transformation concepts with a number of standards-based model-driven development tools; and (iii) it makes available a plethora of OCL tools to actually perform the rule analysis. This approach is especially useful to analyse the operational semantics of Domain Specific Visual Languages. We have automated these ideas by providing designers with tools for the graphical specification and analysis of graph transformation rules, including a backannotation mechanism that presents the analysis results in terms of the original language notation