Towards Sharing Rules Between OWL/SWRL and UML/OCL

The paper presents a metamodel-driven model transformation approach to interchanging rules between the Semantic Web Rule Language along with the Web Ontology Language (OWL/SWRL) and Object Constraint Language (OCL) along with UML (UML/OCL). The solution is based on the REWERSE Rule Markup Language (R2ML), a MOF-defined general rule language, as a pivotal metamodel and the bidirectional transformations between OWL/SWRL and R2ML and between UML/OCL and R2ML. Besides describing mapping rules between three rule languages, the paper proposes the implementation by using ATLAS Transformation language (ATL) and describes the whole transformation process involving several MOF-based metamodels, XML schemas, EBNF grammars

A case study on the transformation of context-aware domain data onto XML schemas

In order to accelerate the development of context-aware applications, it would be convenient to have a smooth path between the context models and the automated services that support these models. This paper discusses how MDA technology (metamodelling and the QVT standard) can support the transformation of high-level models of context-aware services onto the implementation of these services using web services. The total transformation process from context-aware services onto web services involves the following aspects: 1. service signatures, which should be translated onto WSDL definitions; 2. context-aware domain data used as input and output data in service operations, which should be translated onto XML schemas; and 3. service behaviours, which should be used to generate the service implementation. This paper concentrates on the modelling and transformation of the context-aware domain data. The results of this paper are generally applicable to the transformation of elements of any domain-specific language expressed in terms of a metamodel onto XML Schema data

Automated syntactic mediation for Web service integration

As the Web Services and Grid community adopt Semantic Web technology, we observe a shift towards higher-level workflow composition and service discovery practices. While this provides excellent functionality to non-expert users, more sophisticated middleware is required to hide the details of service invocation and service integration. An investigation of a common Bioinformatics use case reveals that the execution of high-level workflow designs requires additional processing to harmonise syntactically incompatible service interfaces. In this paper, we present an architecture to support the automatic reconciliation of data formats in such Web Service worklflows. The mediation of data is driven by ontologies that encapsulate the information contained in heterogeneous data structures supplying a common, conceptual data representation. Data conversion is carried out by a Configurable Mediator component, consuming mappings between \xml schemas and \owl ontologies. We describe our system and give examples of our mapping language against the background of a Bioinformatics use case

WSCDL to WSBPEL: A Case Study of ATL-based Transformation

The ATLAS Transformation Language (ATL) is a hybrid transformation language that combines declarative and imperative programming elements and provides means to define model transformations. Most transformations using ATL reported in the literature show a simplified use of ATL, and often involve a single transformation. However, in more realistic situations, multiple transformations may be necessary, especially in case the original input/output models are not represented in the metametamodeling representation expected by the transformation engine. In this paper, we discuss a model transformation from service choreography (WSCDL) to service orchestration (WSBPEL), which cannot be performed in a single ATL transformation due to the mismatch between the concrete XML syntax of these languages and the metametamodeling representation expected by the ATL transformation engine. This requires auxiliary transformations in which this mismatch is resolved. In principle, the required auxiliary transformations can be implemented using XSLT or a general-purpose programming language like Java. However, in our case study, we evaluate the use of ATL to perform these transformations. We exploit ATL by leveraging the ATL's XML\ud injection and the XML extraction mechanisms to perform the overall transformation in terms of a transformation chain

Generic model for application driven XML data processing

Abstract XML technology has emerged during recent years as a popular choice for representing and exchanging semi-structured data on the Web. It integrates seamlessly with web- based applications. If data is stored and represented as XML documents, then it should be possible to query the contents of these documents in order to extract, synthesize and analyze their contents. This thesis for experimental study of Web architecture for data processing is based on semantic mapping of XML Schema. The thesis involves complex methods and tools for specification, algorithmic transformation and online processing of semi- structured data over the Web in XML format with persistent storage into relational databases. The main focus of the research is preserving the structure of original data for data reconciliation during database updates and also to combine different technologies for XML data processing such as storing (SQL), transformation (XSL Processors), presenting (HTML), querying (XQUERY) and transporting (Web services) using a common framework, which is both theoretically and technologically well grounded. The experimental implementation of the discussed architecture requires a Web server (Apache), Java container (Tomcat) and object-relational DBMS (Oracle 9) equipped with Java engine and corresponding libraries for parsing and transformation of XML data (Xerces and Xalan). Furthermore the central idea behind the research is to use a single theoretical model of the data to be processed by the system (XML algebra) controlled by one standard metalanguage specification (XML Schema) for solving a class of problems (generic architecture). The proposed work combines theoretical novelty and technological advancement in the field of Internet computing. This thesis will introduce a generic approach since both our model (XML algebra) and our problem solver (the architecture of the integrated system) are XML Schema- driven. Starting with the XML Schema of the data, we first develop domain-specific XML algebra suitable for data processing of the specific data and then use it for implementing the main offline components of the system for data processing

Data integration through service-based mediation for web-enabled information systems

The Web and its underlying platform technologies have often been used to integrate existing software and information systems. Traditional techniques for data representation and transformations between documents are not sufficient to support a flexible and maintainable data integration solution that meets the requirements of modern complex Web-enabled software and information systems. The difficulty arises from the high degree of complexity of data structures, for example in business and technology applications, and from the constant change of data and its representation. In the Web context, where the Web platform is used to integrate different organisations or software systems, additionally the problem of heterogeneity arises. We introduce a specific data integration solution for Web applications such as Web-enabled information systems. Our contribution is an integration technology framework for Web-enabled information systems comprising, firstly, a data integration technique based on the declarative specification of transformation rules and the construction of connectors that handle the integration and, secondly, a mediator architecture based on information services and the constructed connectors to handle the integration process

Lightweight XML-based query, integration and visualization of distributed, multimodality brain imaging data

A need of many neuroimaging researchers is to integrate multimodality brain data that may be stored in separate databases. To address this need we have developed a framework that provides a uniform XML-based query interface across multiple online data sources. The development of this framework is driven by the need to integrate neurosurgical and neuroimaging data related to language. The data sources for the language studies are 1) a web-accessible relational database of neurosurgical cortical stimulation mapping data (CSM) that includes patient-specific 3-D coordinates of each stimulation site mapped to an MRI reconstruction of the patient brain surface; and 2) an XML database of fMRI and structural MRI data and analysis results, created automatically by a batch program we have embedded in SPM. To make these sources available for querying each is wrapped as an XML view embedded in a web service. A top level web application accepts distributed XQueries over the sources, which are dispatched to the underlying web services. Returned results can be displayed as XML, HTML, CSV (Excel format), a 2-D schematic of a parcellated brain, or a 3-D brain visualization. In the latter case the CSM patient-specific coordinates returned by the query are sent to a transformation web-service for conversion to normalized space, after which they are sent to our 3-D visualization program MindSeer, which is accessed via Java WebStart through a generated link. The anatomical distribution of pooled CSM sites can then be visualized using various surfaces derived from brain atlases. As this framework is further developed and generalized we believe it will have appeal for researchers who wish to query, integrate and visualize results across their own databases as well as those of collaborators

Specifications and Development of Interoperability Solution dedicated to Multiple Expertise Collaboration in a Design Framework

This paper describes the specifications of an interoperability platform based on the PPO (Product Process Organization) model developed by the French community IPPOP in the context of collaborative and innovative design. By using PPO model as a reference, this work aims to connect together heterogonous tools used by experts easing data and information exchanges. After underlining the growing needs of collaborative design process, this paper focuses on interoperability concept by describing current solutions and their limits. Then a solution based on the flexibility of the PPO model adapted to the philosophy of interoperability is proposed. To illustrate these concepts, several examples are more particularly described (robustness analysis, CAD and Product Lifecycle Management systems connections)

UML to XML-Schema Transformation: a Case Study in Managing Alternative Model Transformations in MDA

In a Model Driven Architecture (MDA) software development process, models are\ud repeatedly transformed to other models in order to finally achieve a set of models with enough details to implement a system. Generally, there are multiple ways to transform one model into another model. Alternative target models differ in their quality properties and the selection of a particular model is determined on the basis of specific requirements. Software engineers must be able to identify, compare and select the appropriate transformations within the given set of requirements. The current transformation languages used for describing and executing model transformations only provide means to specify the transformations but do not help to identify and select from the alternative transformations. In this paper we propose a process and a set of techniques for constructing a transformation space for a given transformation problem. The process uses a source model, its meta-model and the meta-model of the target as input and generates a transformation space. Every element in that space represents a transformation that produces a result that is an instance of the target meta-model. The requirements that must be fulfilled by the result are captured and represented in a quality model. We explain our approach using an illustrative example for transforming a platform independent model expressed in UML into platform specific models that represent XML schemas. A particular quality model of extensibility is presented in the paper

Interface refactoring in performance-constrained web services

This paper presents the development of REF-WS an approach to enable a Web Service provider to reliably evolve their service through the application of refactoring transformations. REF-WS is intended to aid service providers, particularly in a reliability and performance constrained domain as it permits upgraded ’non-backwards compatible’ services to be deployed into a performance constrained network where existing consumers depend on an older version of the service interface. In order for this to be successful, the refactoring and message mediation needs to occur without affecting functional compatibility with the services’ consumers, and must operate within the performance overhead expected of the original service, introducing as little latency as possible. Furthermore, compared to a manually programmed solution, the presented approach enables the service developer to apply and parameterize refactorings with a level of confidence that they will not produce an invalid or ’corrupt’ transformation of messages. This is achieved through the use of preconditions for the defined refactorings