Clafer: Lightweight Modeling of Structure, Behaviour, and Variability

Embedded software is growing fast in size and complexity, leading to intimate mixture of complex architectures and complex control. Consequently, software specification requires modeling both structures and behaviour of systems. Unfortunately, existing languages do not integrate these aspects well, usually prioritizing one of them. It is common to develop a separate language for each of these facets. In this paper, we contribute Clafer: a small language that attempts to tackle this challenge. It combines rich structural modeling with state of the art behavioural formalisms. We are not aware of any other modeling language that seamlessly combines these facets common to system and software modeling. We show how Clafer, in a single unified syntax and semantics, allows capturing feature models (variability), component models, discrete control models (automata) and variability encompassing all these aspects. The language is built on top of first order logic with quantifiers over basic entities (for modeling structures) combined with linear temporal logic (for modeling behaviour). On top of this semantic foundation we build a simple but expressive syntax, enriched with carefully selected syntactic expansions that cover hierarchical modeling, associations, automata, scenarios, and Dwyer's property patterns. We evaluate Clafer using a power window case study, and comparing it against other notations that substantially overlap with its scope (SysML, AADL, Temporal OCL and Live Sequence Charts), discussing benefits and perils of using a single notation for the purpose

UML-SOA-Sec and Saleem's MDS Services Composition Framework for Secure Business Process Modelling of Services Oriented Applications

In Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment, a software application is a composition of services, which are scattered across enterprises and architectures. Security plays a vital role during the design, development and operation of SOA applications. However, analysis of today's software development approaches reveals that the engineering of security into the system design is often neglected. Security is incorporated in an ad-hoc manner or integrated during the applications development phase or administration phase or out sourced. SOA security is cross-domain and all of the required information is not available at downstream phases. The post-hoc, low-level integration of security has a negative impact on the resulting SOA applications. General purpose modeling languages like Unified Modeling Language (UML) are used for designing the software system; however, these languages lack the knowledge of the specific domain and "security" is one of the essential domains. A Domain Specific Language (DSL), named the "UML-SOA-Sec" is proposed to facilitate the modeling of security objectives along the business process modeling of SOA applications. Furthermore, Saleem's MDS (Model Driven Security) services composition framework is proposed for the development of a secure web service composition

Towards a UML Profile for Software Architecture

To formally describe architectures of software systems, specific languages called Architecture Description Languages (ADLs) have been developed by academic institutions and research labs. However, more and more research and industrial projects are using the standard Unified Modeling Language (UML) for representing software architectures of systems. In this paper, we focus on how to extend the UML by incorporating some key abstractions found in current ADLs, such as connectors, components and configurations, and how the UML can be used for modeling architectural viewpoints. Our approach is demonstrated by the software architecture of a video surveillance system. It is therefore the purpose of the paper to show that a UML profile for software architecture is needed

Designing community care systems with AUML

This paper describes an approach to developing an appropriate agent environment appropriate for use in community care applications. Key to its success is that software designers collaborate with environment builders to provide the levels of cooperation and support required within an integrated agent–oriented community system. Agent-oriented Unified Modeling Language (AUML) is a practical approach to the analysis, design, implementation and management of such an agent-based system, whilst providing the power and expressiveness necessary to support the specification, design and organization of a health care service. The background of an agent-based community care application to support the elderly is described. Our approach to building agent–oriented software development solutions emphasizes the importance of AUML as a fundamental initial step in producing more general agent–based architectures. This approach aims to present an effective methodology for an agent software development process using a service oriented approach, by addressing the agent decomposition, abstraction, and organization characteristics, whilst reducing its complexity by exploiting AUML’s productivity potential. </p

A Study of Executable Model Based Systems Engineering from DODAF Using Simulink

Diagrams and visuals often cannot adequately capture a complex system’s architecture for analysis. The Department of Defense Architectural Framework (DoDAF), written to follow the Unified Modeling Language (UML), is a collection of mandated common architectural products for interoperability among the DoD components. In this study, DoDAF products from as-is Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Satellite Communication (SATCOM) systems have been utilized for the creation of executable architectures as part of an Executable Model Based Systems Engineering (EMBSE) process. EMBSE was achieved using Simulink, a software tool for modeling, simulating and analyzing dynamic systems. This study has demonstrated that DoDAF products can be created and executed following the rules of UML for analysis. It has also shown that DoDAF products can be utilized to build analysis models. Furthermore, these analysis models and executable architectures have been presented to a panel of experts on the topic. The comments and study results show a desire for executable architectures as well as their viability as presented in Simulink. This study concludes there is a need, a use and a method to implement objective analysis using EMBSE from DoDAF products in Simulink for current and future DoD systems

UML-SOA-Sec and Saleem’s MDS Services Composition Framework for Secure Business Process Modelling of Services Oriented Applications

In Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment, a software application is a composition of services, which are scattered across enterprises and architectures. Security plays a vital role during the design, development and operation of SOA applications. However, analysis of today’s software development approaches reveals that the engineering of security into the system design is often neglected. Security is incorporated in an ad-hoc manner or integrated during the applications development phase or administration phase or out sourced. SOA security is cross-domain and all of the required information is not available at downstream phases. The post-hoc, low-level integration of security has a negative impact on the resulting SOA applications. General purpose modeling languages like Unified Modeling Language (UML) are used for designing the software system; however, these languages lack the knowledge of the specific domain and “security” is one of the essential domains. A Domain Specific Language (DSL), named the “UML-SOA-Sec” is proposed to facilitate the modeling of security objectives along the business process modeling of SOA applications. Furthermore, Saleem’s MDS (Model Driven Security) services composition framework is proposed for the development of a secure web service composition

Towards a Base UML Profile for Architecture Description

This paper discusses a base UML profile for architecture description as supported by existing Architecture Description Languages (ADLs). The profile may be extended so as to enable architecture modeling both as expressed in conventional ADLs and according to existing runtime infrastructures (e.g., system based on middleware architectures).

A formal verification framework and associated tools for enterprise modeling : application to UEML

The aim of this paper is to propose and apply a verification and validation approach to Enterprise Modeling that enables the user to improve the relevance and correctness, the suitability and coherence of a model by using properties specification and formal proof of properties