Testing of xtUML Models across Auto-Reflexive Software Architecture

Application of MDA in the software development enables a synchronization of the system models and corresponding source files used for the building of the executable version of a software system. Because of often use of manual modifications of some parts of code without equivalent changes in connected models, there is no guarantee that the output of the process of building of the target application will be consistent with the relevant design and implementation models. Possibility of generating of the source files from the models is a necessity, but not a sufficient condition in the process of development and modification of software systems synchronously with the changes in all related models.  More safe approach is building the target application with the use of an automated building process with nested steps for consistency verifications of all critical models and related source files and the usage of model compilers. This article describes the method and tools for extending the software process of building the target system using special files with specification of dependencies between models and source files. Such dependencies represent the core of the critical knowledge, and it is possible to make this knowledge an integral part of the proposed new software architecture

Three Studies on Model Transformations - Parsing, Generation and Ease of Use

ABSTRACTTransformations play an important part in both software development and the automatic processing of natural languages. We present three publications rooted in the multi-disciplinary research of Language Technology and Software Engineering and relate their contribution to the literature on syntactical transformations. Parsing Linear Context-Free Rewriting SystemsThe first publication describes four different parsing algorithms for the mildly context-sensitive grammar formalism Linear Context-Free Rewriting Systems. The algorithms automatically transform a text into a chart. As a result the parse chart contains the (possibly partial) analysis of the text according to a grammar with a lower level of abstraction than the original text. The uni-directional and endogenous transformations are described within the framework of parsing as deduction. Natural Language Generation from Class DiagramsUsing the framework of Model-Driven Architecture we generate natural language from class diagrams. The transformation is done in two steps. In the first step we transform the class diagram, defined by Executable and Translatable UML, to grammars specified by the Grammatical Framework. The grammars are then used to generate the desired text. Overall, the transformation is uni-directional, automatic and an example of a reverse engineering translation. Executable and Translatable UML - How Difficult Can it Be?Within Model-Driven Architecture there has been substantial research on the transformation from Platform-Independent Models (PIM) into Platform-Specifc Models, less so on the transformation from Computationally Independent Models (CIM) into PIMs. This publication reflects on the outcomes of letting novice software developers transform CIMs specified by UML into PIMs defined in Executable and Translatable UML.ConclusionThe three publications show how model transformations can be used within both Language Technology and Software Engineering to tackle the challenges of natural language processing and software development

Do Process Modelling Techniques Get Better? A Comparative Ontological Analysis of BPMN

Current initiatives in the field of Business Process Management (BPM) strive for the development of a BPM standard notation by pushing the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). However, such a proposed standard notation needs to be carefully examined. Ontological analysis is an established theoretical approach to evaluating modelling techniques. This paper reports on the outcomes of an ontological analysis of BPMN and explores identified issues by reporting on interviews conducted with BPMN users in Australia. Complementing this analysis we consolidate our findings with previous ontological analyses of process modelling notations to deliver a comprehensive assessment of BPMN

A Scholarship Approach to Model-Driven Engineering

Model-Driven Engineering is a paradigm for software engineering where software models are the primary artefacts throughout the software life-cycle. The aim is to define suitable representations and processes that enable precise and efficient specification, development and analysis of software. Our contributions to Model-Driven Engineering are structured according to Boyer\u27s four functions of academic activity - the scholarships of teaching, discovery, application and integration. The scholarships share a systematic approach towards seeking new insights and promoting progressive change. Even if the scholarships have their differences they are compatible so that theory, practice and teaching can strengthen each other.Scholarship of Teaching: While teaching Model-Driven Engineering to under-graduate students we introduced two changes to our course. The first change was to introduce a new modelling tool that enabled the execution of software models while the second change was to adapt pair lecturing to encourage the students to actively participate in developing models during lectures. Scholarship of Discovery: By using an existing technology for transforming models into source code we translated class diagrams and high-level action languages into natural language texts. The benefit of our approach is that the translations are applicable to a family of models while the texts are reusable across different low-level representations of the same model.Scholarship of Application: Raising the level of abstraction through models might seem a technical issue but our collaboration with industry details how the success of adopting Model-Driven Engineering depends on organisational and social factors as well as technical. Scholarship of Integration: Building on our insights from the scholarships above and a study at three large companies we show how Model-Driven Engineering empowers new user groups to become software developers but also how engineers can feel isolated due to poor tool support. Our contributions also detail how modelling enables a more agile development process as well as how the validation of models can be facilitated through text generation.The four scholarships allow for different possibilities for insights and explore Model-Driven Engineering from diverse perspectives. As a consequence, we investigate the social, organisational and technological factors of Model-Driven Engineering but also examine the possibilities and challenges of Model-Driven Engineering across disciplines and scholarships

Executable system architecting using systems modeling language in conjunction with Colored Petri Nets - a demonstration using the GEOSS network centric system

Models and simulation furnish abstractions to manage complexities allowing engineers to visualize the proposed system and to analyze and validate system behavior before constructing it. Unified Modeling Language (UML) and its systems engineering extension, Systems Modeling Language (SysML), provide a rich set of diagrams for systems specification. However, the lack of executable semantics of such notations limits the capability of analyzing and verifying defined specifications. This research has developed an executable system architecting framework based on SysML-CPN transformation, which introduces dynamic model analysis into SysML modeling by mapping SysML notations to Colored Petri Net (CPN), a graphical language for system design, specification, simulation, and verification. A graphic user interface was also integrated into the CPN model to enhance the model-based simulation. A set of methodologies has been developed to achieve this framework. The aim is to investigate system wide properties of the proposed system, which in turn provides a basis for system reconfiguration --Abstract, page iii

Scenario-based modeling in industrial information systems

This manuscript addresses the creation of scenario-based models to reason about the behavior of existing industrial information systems. In our approach the system behavior is modeled in two steps that gradually introduce detail and formality. This manuscript addresses the first step, where text-based descriptions, in the form of structured rules, are used to specify how the system is or should be regulated. Those rules can be used to create behavioral snapshots, which are collections of scenario-based descriptions that represent different instances of the system behavior. Snapshots are specified in an intuitive and graphical notation that considers the elements from the problem domain and permit designers to discuss and validate the externally observable behavior, together with the domain experts. In the second step (not fully covered in this manuscript), the system behavior is formalized with an executable model. This formal model, which in our approach is specified using the Colored Petri Net (CP-nets) language, allows the system internal behavior to be animated, simulated, and optimized. The insights gained by experimenting with the formal model can be subsequently used for reengineering the existing system

The Need to Support of Data Flow Graph Visualization of Forensic Lucid Programs, Forensic Evidence, and their Evaluation by GIPSY

Lucid programs are data-flow programs and can be visually represented as data flow graphs (DFGs) and composed visually. Forensic Lucid, a Lucid dialect, is a language to specify and reason about cyberforensic cases. It includes the encoding of the evidence (representing the context of evaluation) and the crime scene modeling in order to validate claims against the model and perform event reconstruction, potentially within large swaths of digital evidence. To aid investigators to model the scene and evaluate it, instead of typing a Forensic Lucid program, we propose to expand the design and implementation of the Lucid DFG programming onto Forensic Lucid case modeling and specification to enhance the usability of the language and the system and its behavior. We briefly discuss the related work on visual programming an DFG modeling in an attempt to define and select one approach or a composition of approaches for Forensic Lucid based on various criteria such as previous implementation, wide use, formal backing in terms of semantics and translation. In the end, we solicit the readers' constructive, opinions, feedback, comments, and recommendations within the context of this short discussion.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, index; extended abstract presented at VizSec'10 at http://www.vizsec2010.org/posters ; short paper accepted at PST'1

State machine flattening, a mapping study and tools assessment

International audienceState machine formalisms equipped with hierarchy and parallelism allow to compactly model complex system behaviours. Such models can then be transformed into executable code or inputs for model-based testing and verification techniques. Generated artifacts are mostly flat descriptions of system behaviour. Flattening is thus an essential step of these transformations. To assess the importance of flattening, we have defined and applied a systematic mapping process and 30 publications were finally selected. However, it appeared that flattening is rarely the sole focus of the publications and that care devoted to the description and validation of flattening techniques varies greatly. Preliminary assessment of associated tool support indicated limited tool availability and scalability on challenging models. We see this initial investigation as a first step towards generic flattening techniques and scal-able tool support, cornerstones of reliable model-based behavioural development

Requirements Specification for Controller Design-from Use Cases to IOPT Net Models

12th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics, INDIN , Porto Alegre: Jul 27-30, 2014Non-autonomous Petri nets offer a language especially adapted for controller specifications. They are typically used in the design phase often with no clear connection to the analysis phase, including requirements specification. This paper shows how use cases can be used to support requirements specification amenable to a direct transformation to IOPT nets, a class of non-autonomous Petri nets. To that end, we propose a set of semi-formal rules for use case descriptions, including use case relationships, which take advantage of the concepts available in IOPT nets, namely input and output signals and events and net addition, a net composition operation

Uvođenje tehnika zasnovanih na modelu u razvoj aplikacija za ugradbene sustave s vremenskim ograničenjima

This paper investigates the feasibility of integrating legacy software processes and tools into the paradigm of model-based development of industrial real-time embedded systems. Research has been conducted on the example of using legacy assembly code for automatic code generation scheme inside MATLAB/Simulink environment. A sample Simulink model has been presented, code has been generated from it and its correctness has been validated by back-to-back comparison with the simulation results.Ovaj rad ispituje mogućnost integriranja naslije.enih procesa i alata za razvoj programske podrške namijenjene industrijskim ugradbenim računalnim sustavima s nametnutim vremenskim ograničenjima u paradigmu razvoja zasnovanog na modelu. Istraživanje je provedeno na primjeru korištenja naslijeđenog asemblerskog programskog koda pri automatskoj generaciji izvršnog koda unutar MATLAB/Simulink okruženja. Prikazan je primjer Simulink modela iz kojega je generiran kod čija je ispravnost utvrđena usporedbom s rezultatima simulacije