Business Domain Modelling using an Integrated Framework

This paper presents an application of a “Systematic Soft Domain Driven Design Framework” as a soft systems approach to domain-driven design of information systems development. The framework combining techniques from Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), the Unified Modelling Language (UML), and an implementation pattern known as “Naked Objects”. This framework have been used in action research projects that have involved the investigation and modelling of business processes using object-oriented domain models and the implementation of software systems based on those domain models. Within this framework, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is used as a guiding methodology to explore the problem situation and to develop the domain model using UML for the given business domain. The framework is proposed and evaluated in our previous works, and a real case study “Information Retrieval System for academic research” is used, in this paper, to show further practice and evaluation of the framework in different business domain. We argue that there are advantages from combining and using techniques from different methodologies in this way for business domain modelling. The framework is overviewed and justified as multimethodology using Mingers multimethodology ideas

Model Transformations with Tom

International audienceModel Driven Engineering (MDE) advocates the use of Model Transformations (MT) in order to automate repetitive development tasks. Many different model transformation languages have been proposed with a significant tool development cost as common language elements like expressions, statements, ... must be built from scratch for each new language development tools. The Tom language is a shallow extension of Java tailored to describe and implement transformations of tree based data-structures. A key feature of Tom allows to map any Java data-structure to tree based data abstractions that can then be accessed by powerful non-linear, associative, commutative pattern matching. In this paper, we present how this approach can be used in order to develop model transformations, in particular relying on Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) based metamodeling facilities. This allows to provide a transformation language at a low cost both for the development of its tools and the training of its users

Object-relational spatio-temporal databases

We present an object-relational model for uniform handling of dimensional data. Spatial, temporal, spatio-temporal and ordinary data are special cases of dimensional data. The said uniformity is achieved through the concept of dimension alignment, which automatically allows lower dimensional data and queries to be used in a higher dimensional context;Unlike ordinary data, dimensional objects are interwoven. We introduce object identity (oid) fragments to circumvent data redundancy at logical level. Computed types are placed appropriately in a type hierarchy to allow maximal use of existing methods. A query language for spatio-temporal data is presented for associative navigation. A framework for algebraic optimization of the query language is suggested;A pattern matching language is designed for complex querying of spatio-temporal data which seamlessly extends the associative navigation in our query language. The pattern matching language recognizes special features of time and space providing an appropriate level of abstraction for application development compared to traditional languages. This reduces the need for embedding the query language in a lower level language such as C++. The pattern matching language is also dimensionally extensible. The pattern matching allows query of data with multiple granularities and continuous data. It also provides hooks for direct query of scientific data (observations);Our model is dimensionally extensible, and also an extension of a relational model for dimensional data. Moreover the dimensionality and addition of oids are mutually orthogonal concepts. Thus starting from classical ordinary data, one may migrate to higher forms of relational or object-relational data in any sequence, without having to recode application software. Our model does not deal with complex objects, which is left as a future extension

A primer on understanding Google Earth Engine APIs

This article is build on the experience of using Google Earth Engine as a development framework for a previous work by the same authors.Being primarily a distributed parallel computing platform, it is designed around a functional language pattern, even though supported on an object model, and a map / reduce distributed workload paradigm.Leveraging the sheer computing power delivered by the Google infrastructure and a multi petabyte remote sensing data repository, GoogleEarth Engine is an efficient development framework that presents itself in two basic flavors: one online integrated development environment which uses the browser Javascript engine; two APIs that can be deployed to a Python or a NodeJS environment.This work emphasizes the comparison between the Javascript browserbased implementation and the Python environment packages

International Chinese Language Education in the Context of Third Language Acquisition: the Value, Connotation and Practical Approaches

International Chinese language education has long been incorporated into the theoretical framework of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), while Chinese is being learned as a third language in most overseas countries. Introducing the theory of third language acquisition helps reveal the pattern of Chinese language acquisition for multilingual learners and promotes the further development of international Chinese language education.This paper reviews the history, content and current status of third language acquisition research and finds that there are three aspects of coupling between the pedagogical elements embedded in international Chinese education and the paradigm of third language acquisition: first, the cognitive advantage of multilingual learners promotes the transformation of instructional goals from perceptual to rational cognition; second, interlanguage transfer and affective strategy convergence prompt teaching approaches to expand from the theory of third language; third, constructing the model of third language acquisition can improve the explanatory power of second language teaching theory in international Chinese language education. This research points out that the introduction of third language acquisition can help build the teaching model that conforms to the cognitive laws of multilingual learners, and that it is necessary to develop specialized teaching materials that follow the rules of third language acquisition based on the model of “practice, evaluation, development”, to integrated teaching with language meaning, language form, and language use as content, and to developing multilingualist's multilingualism with a focus on commonality, distance and awareness of language

A framework for efficient model transformations

The reported productivity gains while using models and model transformations to develop entire systems, after almost a decade of experience applying model-driven approaches for system development, are already undeniable benefits of this approach. However, the slowness of higher-level, rule based model transformation languages hinders the applicability of this approach to industrial scales. Lower-level, and efficient, languages can be used but productivity and easy maintenance seize to exist. The abstraction penalty problem is not new, it also exists for high-level, object oriented languages but everyone is using them now. Why is not everyone using rule based model transformation languages then? In this thesis, we propose a framework, comprised of a language and its respective environment, designed to tackle the most performance critical operation of high-level model transformation languages: the pattern matching. This framework shows that it is possible to mitigate the performance penalty while still using high-level model transformation languages

Neural Mechanisms for Information Compression by Multiple Alignment, Unification and Search

This article describes how an abstract framework for perception and cognition may be realised in terms of neural mechanisms and neural processing. This framework — called information compression by multiple alignment, unification and search (ICMAUS) — has been developed in previous research as a generalized model of any system for processing information, either natural or artificial. It has a range of applications including the analysis and production of natural language, unsupervised inductive learning, recognition of objects and patterns, probabilistic reasoning, and others. The proposals in this article may be seen as an extension and development of Hebb’s (1949) concept of a ‘cell assembly’. The article describes how the concept of ‘pattern’ in the ICMAUS framework may be mapped onto a version of the cell assembly concept and the way in which neural mechanisms may achieve the effect of ‘multiple alignment’ in the ICMAUS framework. By contrast with the Hebbian concept of a cell assembly, it is proposed here that any one neuron can belong in one assembly and only one assembly. A key feature of present proposals, which is not part of the Hebbian concept, is that any cell assembly may contain ‘references’ or ‘codes’ that serve to identify one or more other cell assemblies. This mechanism allows information to be stored in a compressed form, it provides a robust mechanism by which assemblies may be connected to form hierarchies and other kinds of structure, it means that assemblies can express abstract concepts, and it provides solutions to some of the other problems associated with cell assemblies. Drawing on insights derived from the ICMAUS framework, the article also describes how learning may be achieved with neural mechanisms. This concept of learning is significantly different from the Hebbian concept and appears to provide a better account of what we know about human learning

Matching Model-Snippets

International audienceAn important demand in Model-Driven Development is the simple and efficient expression of model patterns. Current approaches tend to distinguish the language they use to express patterns from the one for modelling. Consequently, productivity is reduced by dealing with a distinct new language, and new intermediate steps are introduced in order to support pattern-matching. In this paper we propose a frame- work for expressing patterns as model-snippets. We present how model- snippets are specified upon concepts in a given domain (meta-model), and how we perform pattern-matching with model-snippets, whatever the meta-model. We also provide an implementation which is well inte- grated with existing technologies, such as Eclipse Modelling Framework

A Model-based Repository of Security and Dependability Patterns for Trusted RCES

International audienceThe requirement for higher Security and Dependability (S&D) of systems is continuously increasing, even in domains traditionally not deeply involved in such issues. Nowadays, many practitioners express their worries about current S&D software engineering practices. New recommendations should be considered to ground this discipline on two pillars: solid theory and proven principles. We took the second pillar towards software engineering for embedded system applications, focusing on the problem of integrating S&D by design to foster reuse. Model driven approaches combined with patterns can be extremely helpful to deal with these strong requirements. In this work, we present a framework for trusted Resource Constrained Embedded Systems (RCES) development by design, by defining both a model to represent S&D pattern language and an architecture for development tools. The implementation of a repository of S&D patterns and their complementary property models is discussed in detail

Machine checkable design patterns using dependent types and domain specific goal-oriented modelling languages

Goal-Oriented Modelling Languages such as the Goal Requirements Language (GRL) have been used to reason about Design Patterns. However, the GRL is a general purpose modelling language that does not support concepts bespoke to the pattern domain. This thesis has investigated how advanced programming language techniques, namely Dependent Types and Domain Specific Languages, can be used to enhance the design and construction of Domain Specific Modelling languages (DSMLs), and apply the results to Design Pattern Engineering. This thesis presents Sif, a DSML for reasoning about design patterns as goal-oriented requirements problems. Sif presents modellers with a modelling language tailored to the pattern domain but leverages the GRL for realisation of the modelling constructs. Dependent types have influenced the design and implementation of Sif to provide correctness guarantees, and have led to the development of NovoGRL a novel extension of the GRL. A technique for DSML implementation called Types as (Meta) Modellers was developed in which the interpretation between a DSML and its host language is implemented directly within the type-system of the DSML. This provides correctness guarantees of DSML model instances during model construction. Models can only be constructed if and only if the DSML’s type-system can build a valid representation of the model in the host language. This thesis also investigated design pattern evaluation, developing PREMES an evaluation framework that uses tailorable testing techniques to provide demonstrable reporting on pattern quality. Linking PREMES with Sif are: Freyja - an active pattern document schema in which Sif models are embedded within pattern documents; and Frigg - a tool for interacting with pattern documents. The proof-of-concept tools in this thesis demonstrate: machine enhanced interactions with design patterns; reproducible automation in the PREMES framework; and machine checking of pattern documents as Sif models. With the tooling and techniques presented, design pattern engineering can become a more rigorous, demonstrable, and machine checkable process