Ontological Multilevel Modeling Language

This paper presents ontological multilevel modeling language O2ML, aimed at using with metadata driven information systems. The first part of this paper briefly surveys existing modeling languages and approaches, while the last part proposes a new language to combine their benefits

Generic meta-modelling with concepts, templates and mixin layers

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16145-2_2Proceedings of 13th International Conference, MODELS 2010, Oslo, Norway, October 3-8, 2010.Meta-modelling is a key technique in Model Driven Engineering, where it is used for language engineering and domain modelling. However, mainstream approaches like the OMG’s Meta-Object Facility provide little support for abstraction, modularity, reusability and extendibility of (meta-)models, behaviours and transformations. In order to alleviate this weakness, we bring three elements of generic programming into meta-modelling: concepts, templates and mixin layers. Concepts permit an additional typing for models, enabling the definition of behaviours and transformations independently of meta-models, making specifications reusable. Templates use concepts to express requirements on their generic parameters, and are applicable to models and meta-models. Finally, we define functional layers by means of meta-model mixins which can extend other meta-models. As a proof of concept we also report on MetaDepth, a multi-level meta-modelling framework that implements these ideas.Work sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science, project TIN2008-02081 and mobility grants JC2009-00015 and PR2009-0019, and by the R&D programme of the Community of Madrid, project S2009/TIC-165

What is a Model?

With the recent trend to model driven development a commonly agreed notion of model" becomes a pivotal issue. However, currently there is little consensus about what exactly a model is and what it is not. Furthermore, basic terms such as metamodel" are far from being understood in the same way by all members of the modeling community. This article attempts to start establishing a consensus about generally acceptable terminology. Its main contribution is the distinction between two fundamentally different kinds of models, i.e. type model" versus token model". The recognition of the fundamental difference in these two kinds of models is crucial to avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary disputes among members of the modeling community

Developing an ontological sandbox : investigating multi-level modelling’s possible Metaphysical Structures

One of the central concerns of the multi-level modelling (MLM) community is the hierarchy of classifications that appear in conceptual models; what these are, how they are linked and how they should be organised into levels and modelled. Though there has been significant work done in this area, we believe that it could be enhanced by introducing a systematic way to investigate the ontological nature and requirements that underlie the frameworks and tools proposed by the community to support MLM (such as Orthogonal Classification Architecture and Melanee). In this paper, we introduce a key component for the investigation and understanding of the ontological requirements, an ontological sandbox. This is a conceptual framework for investigating and comparing multiple variations of possible ontologies – without having to commit to any of them – isolated from a full commitment to any foundational ontology. We discuss the sandbox framework as well as walking through an example of how it can be used to investigate a simple ontology. The example, despite its simplicity, illustrates how the constructional approach can help to expose and explain the metaphysical structures used in ontologies, and so reveal the underlying nature of MLM levelling

On abstraction in the OMG hierarchy: systems, models, and descriptions

The Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) uses a metadata hierarchy with several layers that are placed on top of each other. The traditional view is that the layers provide abstractions related to models in languages defined by meta-models. Over the years, it has been difficult to define a consistent understanding of the layers. In this paper, we propose such a consistent understanding by clarifying the relations between the different elements in the hierarchy. This is done based on the Scandinavian approach to modelling that distinguishes between systems and system descriptions. Systems can be physical, digital, or even mental, while descriptions can be programs, language descriptions, specifications, and diagrams. We relate descriptions and systems by explaining where semantics of objects originate and how they apply in the hierarchy.publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

Modular Moose: A new generation software reverse engineering environment

Advanced reverse engineering tools are required to cope with the complexity of software systems and the specific requirements of numerous different tasks (re-architecturing, migration, evolution). Consequently, reverse engineering tools should adapt to a wide range of situations. Yet, because they require a large infrastructure investment, being able to reuse these tools is key. Moose is a reverse engineering environment answering these requirements. While Moose started as a research project 20 years ago, it is also used in industrial projects, exposing itself to all these difficulties. In this paper we present ModMoose, the new version of Moose. ModMoose revolves around a new meta-model, modular and extensible; a new toolset of generic tools (query module, visualization engine, ...); and an open architecture supporting the synchronization and interaction of tools per task. With ModMoose, tool developers can develop specific meta-models by reusing existing elementary concepts, and dedicated reverse engineering tools that can interact with the existing ones

Inducing metaassociations and induced relationships

In the last years, UML has been tailored to be used as a domainspecific modelling notation in several contexts. Extending UML with this purpose entails several advantages: the integration of the domain in a standard framework; its potential usage by the software engineering community; and the existence of supporting tools. In previous work, we explored one particular issue of heavyweight extensions, namely, the definition of inducing metaassociations in metamodels as a way to induce the presence of specific relationships in their instances. Those relationships were intended by the metamodel specifier but not forced by the metamodel itself. However, our work was restricted to the case of induced associations. This paper proposes an extension to the general case in which inducing metaassociations may force the existence of arbitrary relationships at M1. To attain this goal, we provide a general definition of inducing metaassociation that covers all the possible cases. After revisiting induced associations, we show the inducement of the other relationship types defined in UML: association classes, generalization and dependencies.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

From types to type requirements: Genericity for model-driven engineering

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10270-011-0221-0Model-driven engineering (MDE) is a software engineering paradigm that proposes an active use of models during the development process. This paradigm is inherently type-centric, in the sense that models and their manipulation are defined over the types of specific meta-models. This fact hinders the reuse of existing MDE artefacts with other meta-models in new contexts, even if all these meta-models share common characteristics. To increase the reuse opportunities of MDE artefacts, we propose a paradigm shift from type-centric to requirement-centric specifications by bringing genericity into models, meta-models and model management operations. For this purpose, we introduce so-called concepts gathering structural and behavioural requirements for models and meta-models. In this way, model management operations are defined over concepts, enabling the application of the operations to any meta-model satisfying the requirements imposed by the concept. Model templates rely on concepts to define suitable interfaces, hence enabling the definition of reusable model components. Finally, similar to mixin layers, templates can be defined at the meta-model level as well, to define languages in a modular way, as well as layers of functionality to be plugged-in into other meta-models. These ideas have been implemented in MetaDepth, a multi-level meta-modelling tool that integrates action languages from the Epsilon family for model management and code generation.This work has been sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with projects METEORIC (TIN2008-02081) and Go Lite (TIN2011-24139), and by the R&D program of the Community of Madrid with project “e-Madrid” (S2009/TIC-1650)

Pattern-Based Development of Domain-Specific Modelling Languages

Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. A. Pescador, A. Garmendia, E. Guerra, J. Sánchez Cuadrado and J. de Lara, "Pattern-based development of Domain-Specific Modelling Languages," Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS), 2015 ACM/IEEE 18th International Conference on, Ottawa, ON, 2015, pp. 166-175. doi: 10.1109/MODELS.2015.7338247Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) promotes the use of models to conduct all phases of software development in an automated way. Models are frequently defined using Domain- Specific Modelling Languages (DSMLs), which many times need to be developed for the domain at hand. However, while constructing DSMLs is a recurring activity in MDE, there is scarce support for gathering, reusing and enacting knowledge for their design and implementation. This forces the development of every new DSML to start from scratch. To alleviate this problem, we propose the construction of DSMLs and their modelling environments aided by patterns which gather knowledge of specific domains, design alternatives, concrete syntax, dynamic semantics and functionality for the modelling environment. They may have associated services, realized via components. Our approach is supported by a tool that enables the construction of DSMLs through the application of patterns, and synthesizes a graphical modelling environment according to them.Work supported by the Spanish MINECO (TIN2011-24139 and TIN2014-52129-R), the R&D programme of the Madrid Region (S2013/ICE-3006), and the EU commission (FP7-ICT-2013-10, #611125)