Extending UML templates towards computability

UML templates allow the specification of generic model elements that can be reproduced in domain models by means of the Bind relationship. Binding to a template encompasses the substitution of that template’s parameters by compatible domain elements. The requirement of compatibility, however, is checked over by UML in a very permissive way. As a consequence, binding to a template can result in badly-formed models and non-computable expressions. Such option in the design of UML was certainly intentional and meant to allow for richer semantics for the Bind relationship, as the specialization of the concept is advised at several points of the standard. This paper proposes one such specialization. One that guarantees well-formedness and computability for elements bound to a template. This is achieved by introducing the concept of Functional Conformance, which is imposed between every template’s parameter and its application domain substitute. Functional conformance is defined in terms of well-formedness rules, expressed as OCL constraints on top of OMG’s UML metamodel.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Extending UML templates towards flexibility

UML templates are generic model elements that may be instantiated as domain specific solutions by means of parameterization. Some of the elements in a template definition are marked as parameters, implying that these must be sub-stituted by elements of the domain model, so to get a fully functional instance of the template. On parameter substitutions, UML enforces that the parame-tered element and its substitute must be of the same kind (both classes, both at-tributes, etc.). This paper shows that this constraint confines the applicability of templates and proposes an alternative that, by allowing substitutions among elements of different kinds, broadens that applicability. Cross-kind substitu-tions, however, require adequate semantics for the Binding relationship. Such semantics are proposed as model transformations that must complement the plain substitutions preconized by UML. Examples of such transformations are provided for activities in a template being expanded into a bound element.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Extending UML templates towards flexibility (extended version)

Extended version of a research paper submitted to the 2nd Flexible MDE Workshop, FlexMDE 2016 (www.di.univaq.it/flexmde/).UML templates are generic model elements that may be instantiated as domain specific solutions by means of parameterization. Some of the elements in a tem-plate definition are marked as parameters, which must be substituted by conform-ing elements in the domain model to get a fully functional instance of the tem-plate. The validation of parameter substitutions enforces that the parametered ele-ment and its substitute must be of the same kind (both classes, both attributes, etc.). This paper shows that such imperative restrains the applicability of tem-plates and proposes an alternative set of constraints that, by allowing substitu-tions among elements of different kinds, widens that applicability. Cross-kind substitutions, however, require adequate semantics for the Binding relationship. Such semantics are proposed as model transformations that must complement the plain substitutions preconized by UML and are exemplified w.r.t. the instantiation of activity diagrams

A demonstration of compilability for UML template instances

Because of the thin set of well-formedness rules associated to Templates in UML, ill-formed elements may result from bindings to templates. Although such ill-formedness is generally detected by some UML validation rule, the problem is poorly reported because it is not normally imputed to the binding. Typically, such problems are detected as non-compilable code in the template instances. A set of well-formedness rules, additional to those of the standard UML, was proposed as a way to ensure the compilability of instances and prevent this problem from occurring. Such set of constraints was proposed in a previous paper and named Functional Conformance, but a demonstration of its effectiveness was not yet provided. Such a demonstration is outlined in the current paper. Carrying out the demonstration revealed the need for two more rules than those previously envisioned for Functional Conformance.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A Demonstration of compilability for UML template instances

Extended version of the paper: J. M. Farinha, "A Demonstration of Compilability for UML Template Instances", in Proc. of the 4th Int. Conf. on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development (MODELSWARD 2016), Slimane Hammoudi, Luis Ferreira Pires, Bran Selic, Philippe Desfray, Ed., Roma, Itália, SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, 2016, pp. 397-404.Because of the thin set of well-formedness rules associated to Templates in UML, ill-formed elements may result from well-formed bindings to templates. Although such ill-formedness is generally detected by some UML validation rule, the problem is poorly reported if the violated rule does not pertain to the Template construct. Typically, erroneous substitutions of template parameters will be misleadingly reported as compilation problems in the code of operations of the template’s instance. This paper demonstrates that a set of well-formedness rules, additional to those of the standard UML, prevents this problem from occurring. Such set of constraints was proposed in a previous paper and named Functional Conformance (FC), but a demonstration of its effectiveness was not provided. Such a demonstration is carried out in the current paper adopting UML Activities as the formalism to represent the dynamics of systems and their well-formedness rules as compilability criteria. Carrying out the demonstration revealed further rules than those previously proposed for FC

Efficiently Conducting Quality-of-Service Analyses by Templating Architectural Knowledge

Previously, software architects were unable to effectively and efficiently apply reusable knowledge (e.g., architectural styles and patterns) to architectural analyses. This work tackles this problem with a novel method to create and apply templates for reusable knowledge. These templates capture reusable knowledge formally and can efficiently be integrated in architectural analyses

Combining Monitoring with Run-Time Assertion Checking

According to a study in 2002 commissioned by a US Department, software bugs annually costs the US economy an estimated $59 billion. A more recent study in 2013 by Cambridge University estimated that the global cost has risen to$312 billion globally. There exists various ways to prevent, isolate and fix software bugs, ranging from lightweight methods that are (semi)-automatic, to heavyweight methods that require significant user interaction. Our own method described in this tutorial is based on automated run-time checking of a combination of protocol- and data-oriented properties of object-oriented programs

FLACOS’08 Workshop proceedings

The 2nd Workshop on Formal Languages and Analysis of Contract-Oriented Software (FLACOS’08) is held in Malta. The aim of the workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners working on language-based solutions to contract-oriented software development. The workshop is partially funded by the Nordunet3 project “COSoDIS” (Contract-Oriented Software Development for Internet Services) and it attracted 25 participants. The program consists of 4 regular papers and 10 invited participant presentations

Evolution of security engineering artifacts: a state of the art survey

Security is an important quality aspect of modern open software systems. However, it is challenging to keep such systems secure because of evolution. Security evolution can only be managed adequately if it is considered for all artifacts throughout the software development lifecycle. This article provides state of the art on the evolution of security engineering artifacts. The article covers the state of the art on evolution of security requirements, security architectures, secure code, security tests, security models, and security risks as well as security monitoring. For each of these artifacts the authors give an overview of evolution and security aspects and discuss the state of the art on its security evolution in detail. Based on this comprehensive survey, they summarize key issues and discuss directions of future research