Formal Analysis of Functional Behaviour for Model Transformations Based on Triple Graph Grammars - Extended Version

Triple Graph Grammars (TGGs) are a well-established concept for the specification of model transformations. In previous work we have formalized and analyzed already crucial properties of model transformations like termination, correctness and completeness, but functional behaviour - especially local confluence - is missing up to now. In order to close this gap we generate forward translation rules, which extend standard forward rules by translation attributes keeping track of the elements which have been translated already. In the first main result we show the equivalence of model transformations based on forward resp. forward translation rules. This way, an additional control structure for the forward transformation is not needed. This allows to apply critical pair analysis and corresponding tool support by the tool AGG. However, we do not need general local confluence, because confluence for source graphs not belonging to the source language is not relevant for the functional behaviour of a model transformation. For this reason we only have to analyze a weaker property, called translation confluence. This leads to our second main result, the functional behaviour of model transformations, which is applied to our running example, the model transformation from class diagrams to database models

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

Avoiding Unnecessary Information Loss: Correct and Efficient Model Synchronization Based on Triple Graph Grammars

Model synchronization, i.e., the task of restoring consistency between two interrelated models after a model change, is a challenging task. Triple Graph Grammars (TGGs) specify model consistency by means of rules that describe how to create consistent pairs of models. These rules can be used to automatically derive further rules, which describe how to propagate changes from one model to the other or how to change one model in such a way that propagation is guaranteed to be possible. Restricting model synchronization to these derived rules, however, may lead to unnecessary deletion and recreation of model elements during change propagation. This is inefficient and may cause unnecessary information loss, i.e., when deleted elements contain information that is not represented in the second model, this information cannot be recovered easily. Short-cut rules have recently been developed to avoid unnecessary information loss by reusing existing model elements. In this paper, we show how to automatically derive (short-cut) repair rules from short-cut rules to propagate changes such that information loss is avoided and model synchronization is accelerated. The key ingredients of our rule-based model synchronization process are these repair rules and an incremental pattern matcher informing about suitable applications of them. We prove the termination and the correctness of this synchronization process and discuss its completeness. As a proof of concept, we have implemented this synchronization process in eMoflon, a state-of-the-art model transformation tool with inherent support of bidirectionality. Our evaluation shows that repair processes based on (short-cut) repair rules have considerably decreased information loss and improved performance compared to former model synchronization processes based on TGGs.Comment: 33 pages, 20 figures, 3 table

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)

Engineering model transformations with transML

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10270-011-0211-2Model transformation is one of the pillars of model-driven engineering (MDE). The increasing complexity of systems and modelling languages has dramatically raised the complexity and size of model transformations as well. Even though many transformation languages and tools have been proposed in the last few years, most of them are directed to the implementation phase of transformation development. In this way, even though transformations should be built using sound engineering principles—just like any other kind of software—there is currently a lack of cohesive support for the other phases of the transformation development, like requirements, analysis, design and testing. In this paper, we propose a unified family of languages to cover the life cycle of transformation development enabling the engineering of transformations. Moreover, following an MDE approach, we provide tools to partially automate the progressive refinement of models between the different phases and the generation of code for several transformation implementation languages.This work has been sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with project METEORIC (TIN2008-02081), and by the R&D program of the Community of Madrid with projects “e-Madrid" (S2009/TIC-1650). Parts of this work were done during the research stays of Esther and Juan at the University of York, with financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant refs. JC2009-00015, PR2009-0019 and PR2008-0185)

Enterprise Modelling using Algebraic Graph Transformation - Extended Version

An analysis of today's situation at Credit Suisse has shown severe problems, because it is based on current best practices and ad-hoc modelling techniques to handle important aspects of security, risk and compliance. Based on this analysis we propose in this paper a new enterprise model which allows the construction, integration, transformation and evaluation of different organizational models in a big decentralized organization like Credit Suisse. The main idea of the new model framework is to provide small decentralized models and intra-model evaluation techniques to handle services, processes and rules separately for the business and IT universe on one hand and for human-centric and machine-centric concepts on the other hand. Furthermore, the new framework provides inter-modelling techniques based on algebraic graph transformation to establish the connection between different kinds of models and to allow integration of the decentralized models. In order to check for security, risk and compliance in a suitable way, our models and techniques are based on different kinds of formal methods. In this paper, we show that algebraic graph transformation techniques are useful not only for intra-modelling - using graph grammars for visual languages and graph constraints for requirements - but also for inter-modelling - using triple graph grammars for model transformation and integration. Altogether, we present the overall idea of our new model framework and show how to solve specific problems concerning intra- and inter-modelling as first steps. This should give evidence that our framework can also handle important other requirements for enterprise modelling in a big decentralized organization like Credit Suisse

Propagation of Constraints along Model Transformations Based on Triple Graph Grammars: Long Version

Model transformations based on triple graph grammars (TGGs) have been applied in several practical case studies and they convince by their intuitive and descriptive way of specifying bidirectional model transformations. Moreover, fundamental properties have been extensively studied including syntactical correctness, completeness, termination and functional behaviour. But up to now, it is an open problem how domain specific properties that are valid for a source model can be preserved along model transformations such that the transformed properties are valid for the derived target model. In this paper, we analyse in the framework of TGGs how to propagate constraints from a source model to an integrated and target model such that, whenever the source model satisfies the source constraint also the integrated and target model satisfy the corresponding integrated and target constraint. In our main new results we show under which conditions this is possible. The case study shows how this result is successfully applied for the propagation of security constraints in enterprise modelling between business and IT models

Model Transformation of Model Fragments Using Borrowed Context: Extended Version

In this technical report we study the transformation of models in the context of algebraic graph transformation and triple graph grammars. The new contribution of the report is to define and analyze the transformation of model fragments in general and the propagtion of graph constraints in particular. With the borrowed context we developed a technique further to the model transformation with triple graph grammars. This allows a transformation of incomplete models which could not be transformed until now. Moreover, we defined under which conditions a graph constraint can be propagated with borrowed context transformations and the model properties are preserved. This is also analyzed in the case study using the modeling framework ABT-Reo

Bidirectional Transformation "bx" (Dagstuhl Seminar 11031)

Bidirectional transformations bx are a mechanism for maintaining the consistency of two (or more) related sources of information. Researchers from many different areas of computer science including databases (DB), graph transformations (GT), software engineering (SE), and programming languages (PL) are actively investigating the use of bx to solve a diverse set of problems. Although researchers have been actively working on bidirectional transformations in the above mentioned communities for many years already, there has been very little cross-discipline interaction and cooperation so far. The purpose of a first International Meeting on Bidirectional Transformations (GRACE-BX), held in December 2008 near Tokyo, was therefore to bring together international elites, promising young researchers, and leading practitioners to share problems, discuss solutions, and open a dialogue towards understanding the common underpinnings of bx in all these areas. While the GRACE-BX meeting provided a starting point for exchanging ideas in different communities and confirmed our believe that there is a considerable overlap of studied problems and developed solutions in the identified communities, the Dagstuhl Seminar 11031 on ``Bidirectional Transformations\u27\u27 also aimed at providing a place for working together to define a common vocabulary of terms and desirable properties of bidirectional transformations, develop a suite of benchmarks, solve some challenging problems, and launch joint efforts to form a living bx community of cooperating experts across the identified subdisciplines. This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 11031 with abstracts of tutorials, working groups, and presentations on specific research topics