Triple Graph Grammars in the Large for Translating Satellite Procedures

Software translation is a challenging task. Several requirements are important – including automation of the execution, maintainability of the translation patterns, and, most importantly, reliability concerning the correctness of the translation. Triple graph grammars (TGGs) have shown to be an intuitive, well-defined technique for model translation. In this paper, we leverage TGGs for industry scale software translations. The approach is implemented using the Eclipse-based graph transformation tool Henshin and has been successfully applied in a large industrial project with the satellite operator SES on the translation of satellite control procedures. We evaluate the approach regarding requirements from the project and performance on a complete set of procedures of one satellite

Synchronisation of Model Visualisation and Code Generation Based on Model Transformation

The development, maintenance and documentation of complex systems is commonly supported by model-driven approaches where system properties are captured by visual models at different layers of abstraction and from different perspectives as proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG) and its model-driven architecture. Generally, a model is a concrete view on the system from a specific perspective in a particular domain. We focus on visual models in the form of diagrams and whose syntax is defined by domain-specific modelling languages (DSLs). Different models may represent different views on a system, i.e., they may be linked to each other by sharing a common set of information. Therefore, models that are expressed in one DSL may be transformed to interlinked models in other DSLs and furthermore, model updates may be synchronised between different domains. Concretely, this thesis presents the transformation and synchronisation of source code (abstract syntax trees, ASTs) written in the Satellite-Procedure & Execution Language (SPELL) to flow charts (code visualisation) and vice versa (code generation) as the result of an industrial case study. The transformation and synchronisation are performed based on existing approaches for model transformations and synchronisations between two domains in the theoretic framework of graph transformation where models are represented by graphs. Furthermore, extensions to existing approaches are presented for treating non-determinism in concurrent model synchronisations. Finally, the existing results for model transformations and synchronisations between two domains are lifted to the more general case of an arbitrary number of domains or models containing views, i.e., a model in one domain may be transformed to models in several domains or to all other views, respectively, and model updates in one domain may be synchronised to several other domains or to all other views, respectively

Correctness of Generalisation and Customisation of Concurrent Model Synchronisation Based on Triple Graph Grammars

Triple graph grammars (TGGs) have been successfully applied to specify and analyse bidirectional model transformations. Recently, a formal approach to concurrent model synchronisation has been presented, where a source and a target modification have to be synchronised simultaneously. In this approach, conflicts between the given and propagated source or target model modifications are taken into account. A semi-automatic conflict resolution strategy is proposed, where a formal resolution strategy can be combined with a user-specific strategy. Up to now, our approach requires deterministic propagation operations. In this paper, we want to relax this condition and also consider non-deterministic (conflicting) operations which might require backtracking. For optimisation, we propose to eliminate conflicts between the operational rules of a TGG using the concept of filter NACs. Nevertheless, concurrent synchronisation is non-deterministic from a user perspective: The user may choose between forward synchronisation and backward synchronisation. Moreover, the conflict resolution strategy may result in several solutions from which the user has to select the most adequate one. Hence, we discuss different kinds of customisation of the synchronisation process and explain the impacts of the different strategies

20 years of triple graph grammars: A roadmap for future research

Triple graph grammars (TGGs) provide a declarative, rule-based means of specifying binary consistency relationships between different types of graphs. Over the last 20 years, TGGs have been applied successfully in a range of application scenarios including: model generation, conformance testing, bidirectional model transformation, and incremental model synchronisation. In this paper, we review the progress made in TGG research up until now by exploring multiple research dimensions, including both the current frontiers of TGG research as well as important future challenges. Our aim is to provide a roadmap for the coming years of TGG research by stating clearly what we regard as adequately researched, and what we view as still unexplored potential

COSMICAH 2005: workshop on verification of COncurrent Systems with dynaMIC Allocated Heaps (a Satellite event of ICALP 2005) - Informal Proceedings

Lisboa Portugal, 10 July 200

Canonical Derivations with Negative Application Conditions

Using graph transformations to specify the dynamics of distributed systems and networks, we require a precise understanding of concurrency. Negative application conditions (NACs) are an essential means for controlling the application of rules, extending our ability to model complex systems. A classical notion of concurrency in graph transformation is based on shift equivalence and its representation by canonical derivations, i.e., normal forms of the shift operation anticipating independent steps. These concepts are lifted to graph transformation systems with NACs and it is shown that canonical derivations exist for so-called incremental NACs

Model Synchronization for Software Evolution

Software evolution refers to continuous change that a software system endures from inception to retirement. Each change must be efficiently and tractably propagated across models representing the system at different levels of abstraction. Model synchronization activities needed to support the systematic specification and analysis of evolution activities are still not adequately identified and formally defined. In our research, we first introduce a formal notation for the representation of domain models and model instances to form the theoretical basis for the proposed model synchronization framework. Besides conforming to a generic MOF metamodel, we consider that each software model also relates to an application domain context (e.g., operating systems, web services). Therefore, we are addressing the problems of model synchronization by focusing on domain-specific contexts. Secondly, we identify and formally define model dependencies that are needed to trace and propagate changes across system models at different levels of abstraction, such as from design to source code. The approach for extraction of these dependencies is based on Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) algorithms. We further model identified dependencies using Unified Modeling Language (UML) profiles and constraints, and utilize the extracted dependency relations in the context of coarse-grained model synchronization. Thirdly, we introduce modeling semantics that allow for more complex profile-based dependencies using Triple Graph Grammar (TGG) rules with corresponding Object Constraint Language (OCL) constraints. The TGG semantics provide for fine-grained model synchronization, and enable compliance with the Query/View/Transformation (QVT) standards. The introduced framework is assessed on a large, industrial case study of the IBM Commerce system. The dependency extraction framework is applied to repositories of business process models and related source code. The extracted dependencies were evaluated by IBM developers, and the corresponding precision and recall values calculated with results that match the scope and goals of the research. The grammar-based model synchronization and dependency modelling using profiles has also been applied to the IBM Commerce system, and evaluated by the developers and architects involved in development of the system. The results of this experiment have been found to be valuable by stakeholders, and a patent codifying the results has been filed by the IBM organization and has been granted. Finally, the results of this experiment have been formalized as TGG rules, and used in the context of fine-grained model synchronization

Designing Round-Trip Systems by Change Propagation and Model Partitioning

Software development processes incorporate a variety of different artifacts (e.g., source code, models, and documentation). For multiple reasons the data that is contained in these artifacts does expose some degree of redundancy. Ensuring global consistency across artifacts during all stages in the development of software systems is required, because inconsistent artifacts can yield to failures. Ensuring consistency can be either achieved by reducing the amount of redundancy or by synchronizing the information that is shared across multiple artifacts. The discipline of software engineering that addresses these problems is called Round-Trip Engineering (RTE). In this thesis we present a conceptual framework for the design RTE systems. This framework delivers precise definitions for essential terms in the context of RTE and a process that can be used to address new RTE applications. The main idea of the framework is to partition models into parts that require synchronization - skeletons - and parts that do not - clothings. Once such a partitioning is obtained, the relations between the elements of the skeletons determine whether a deterministic RTE system can be built. If not, manual decisions may be required by developers. Based on this conceptual framework, two concrete approaches to RTE are presented. The first one - Backpropagation-based RTE - employs change translation, traceability and synchronization fitness functions to allow for synchronization of artifacts that are connected by non-injective transformations. The second approach - Role-based Tool Integration - provides means to avoid redundancy. To do so, a novel tool design method that relies on role modeling is presented. Tool integration is then performed by the creation of role bindings between role models. In addition to the two concrete approaches to RTE, which form the main contributions of the thesis, we investigate the creation of bridges between technical spaces. We consider these bridges as an essential prerequisite for performing logical synchronization between artifacts. Also, the feasibility of semantic web technologies is a subject of the thesis, because the specification of synchronization rules was identified as a blocking factor during our problem analysis. The thesis is complemented by an evaluation of all presented RTE approaches in different scenarios. Based on this evaluation, the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches are identified. Also, the practical feasibility of our approaches is confirmed w.r.t. the presented RTE applications

Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering, FASE 2020, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, in April 2020, and was held as Part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2020. The 23 full papers, 1 tool paper and 6 testing competition papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 81 submissions. The papers cover topics such as requirements engineering, software architectures, specification, software quality, validation, verification of functional and non-functional properties, model-driven development and model transformation, software processes, security and software evolution