1,120 research outputs found
Diagrammatization of the Transmission Control Protocol
With the wide spread of Internet services, developers and users need a
greater understanding of the technology of networking. Acquiring a clear
understanding of communication protocols is an important step in understanding
how a network functions; however, many protocols are complicated, and
explaining them can be demanding. In addition, protocols are often explained in
terms of traffic analysis and oriented toward technical staff and those already
familiar with network protocols. This paper aims at proposing a diagrammatic
methodology to represent protocols in general, with a focus on the Transmission
Control Protocol and Secure Sockets Layer in particular. The purpose is to
facilitate understanding of protocols for learning and communication purposes.
The methodology is based on the notion of flow of primitive things in a system
with six stages: creation, release, transfer, arrival, acceptance, and
processing. Though the method presents a basic description of protocols without
in-depth analysis of all aspects and mechanisms, the resultant conceptual
description is a systematic specification that utilizes a few basic notions
that assist in illustrating functionality and support comprehension.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Business Process Modeling: Blueprinting
This paper presents a flow-based methodology for capturing processes
specified in business process modeling. The proposed methodology is
demonstrated through re-modeling of an IBM Blueworks case study. While the
Blueworks approach offers a well-proven tool in the field, this should not
discourage workers from exploring other ways of thinking about effectively
capturing processes. The diagrammatic representation presented here
demonstrates a viable methodology in this context. It is hoped this explicit
analysis of diverse fundamental approaches will benefit the research in the
field and also advance current practices
Thinging vs Objectfying in Software Engineering
In this paper, we propose the use of a modeling methodology based on the
notion of thing, with a focus on the current stage of research being on the
analysis phase of software system modeling. The object-oriented approach, which
takes the object as a central concept, provides the opportunity to explore
applying thinging to the reconceptualization of objects. Several
object-oriented examples are recast in terms of thing-oriented modeling. The
results indicate a positive development that leads to several possible options:
(1) supplementing the object orientation (OO) paradigm with additional
notations, and (2) promoting a further understanding of some aspect of the OO
paradigm. The possibility of developing a new approach in modeling based on
thinging also exists.Comment: 8 pages, 18 figure
Modeling Physical/Digital Systems: Formal Event-B vs. Diagrammatic Thinging Machine
Models are centrally important in many scientific fields. A model is a
representation of a selected part of the world, which is the model s target
system. Here, a system consists of a software portion as a component among many
others. Event-B is a modeling method for formalizing and developing systems
whose components can be modeled based on set theory and first-order logic. The
thinging machine (TM) is a diagram-based model establishes three levels of
representation: (1) a static structural description, which is constructed upon
the flow of things in five generic operations (activities; i.e., create,
process, release, transfer, and receive); (2) a dynamic representation, which
identifies hierarchies of events based on five generic events; and (3) a
behavioral representation according to the chronology of events. This paper is
an exercise in contrasting the formal Event-B to the diagrammatic TM. The
purpose is to further understand modeling in computer science. This is
motivated by the claim that computer scientists should not invent specific
languages to do the modeling. Important notions such as events and behavior are
contrasted, and a case study system of traffic on a bridge is modeled in
Event-B and TM. The results seem to indicate the need for both modeling
approaches.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure
Modeling Events as Machines
The notion of events has occupied a central role in modeling and has an
influence in computer science and philosophy. Recent developments in
diagrammatic modeling have made it possible to examine conceptual
representation of events. This paper explores some aspects of the notion of
events that are produced by applying a new diagrammatic methodology with a
focus on the interaction of events with such concepts as time and space,
objects. The proposed description applies to abstract machines where events
form the dynamic phases of a system. The results of this nontechnical research
can be utilized in many fields where the notion of an event is typically used
in interdisciplinary application
Existential Ontology and Thinging Modeling in Software Engineering
This study is a sequel to a previous study entitled Thinging for Software
Engineers, which showed that the notion of thing, in contrast to
objectification, has some beneficial orientations in modeling. The
incorporation of thinging in conceptual modeling is required to explain the
roots of Heidegger s conception of things. This requires an understanding of
Heidegger s existential ontology to identify any relationship to thinging. This
paper is an exploration of existential ontology in search of further
clarification of the concept of thinging. We start by reviewing the thinging
machine (TM) introduced in Thinging for Software Engineers and provide a full
example of its utilization in modeling an ordering system. We follow this with
a discussion of the being (existence) of things in the word and Heidegger s
interpretation of time as a possible horizon for any understanding whatsoever
of being. We emphasize that the TM is not related directly to the Heideggerian
notion of existence and its elaborate analysis of Dasein. However, there may be
some benefit to studying non-Dasein things to provide a philosophical
foundation to thinging, as utilized in TM modeling. Interestingly, the TM can
be utilized to model existential ontology, thus increasing the level of
understanding about them.Comment: 11 pages,17 figure
Diagramming the Class Diagram: Toward a Unified Modeling Methodology
The object-oriented class is, in general, the most utilized element in
programming and modeling. It is employed throughout the software development
process, from early domain analysis phases to later maintenance phases. A class
diagram typically uses elements of graph theory, e.g., boxes, ovals, lines.
Many researchers have examined the class diagram layout from different
perspectives, including visibility, juxtaposability, and aesthetics. While
software systems can be incredibly complex, class diagrams represent a very
broad picture of the system as a whole. The key to understanding of such
complexity is use of tools such as diagrams at various levels of
representation. This paper develops a more elaborate diagrammatic description
of the class diagram that includes flows of attributes, thus providing a basic
representation for specifying behavior and control instead of merely listing
methods.Comment: 12 page
Three Levels of Modeling: Static (Structure/Trajectories of Flow), Dynamic (Events) and Behavioral (Chronology of Events)
Constructing a conceptual model as an abstract representation of a portion of
the real world involves capturing the (1) static (things/objects and
trajectories of flow), (2) the dynamic (event identification), and (3) the
behavior (e.g., acceptable chronology of events) of the modeled system. This
paper focuses on examining the behavior notion in modeling and current works in
the behavior space to illustrate that the problem of behavior and its related
concepts in modeling lacks a clear-cut systematic basis. The purpose is to
advance the understanding of system behavior to avoid ambiguity-related
problems in system specification. It is proposed to base the notion of behavior
on a new conceptual model, called the thinging machine, which is a tool for
modeling that establishes three levels of representation: (1) a static
structural description that is constructed upon the flow of things in five
generic operations (activities; i.e., create, process, release, transfer and
receive); (2) a dynamic representation that identifies hierarchies of events
based on five generic events; and (3) a chronology of events. This is shown
through examples that support the thinging machine as a new methodology
suitable for all three levels of specification.Comment: 10 pages, 16 figure
Conceptual Modeling for Control of a Physical Engineering Plant: A Case Study
We examine the problem of weaknesses in frameworks of conceptual modeling for
handling certain aspects of the system being modeled. We propose the use of a
flow-based modeling methodology at the conceptual level. Specifically, and
without loss of generality, we develop a conceptual description that can be
used for controlling the maintenance of a physical system, and demonstrate it
by applying it to an existing electrical power plant system. Recent studies
reveal difficulties in finding comprehensive answers for monitoring operations
and identifying risks as well as the fact that incomplete information can
easily lead to incorrect maintenance. A unified framework for integrated
conceptualization is therefore needed. The conceptual modeling approach
integrates maintenance operations into a total system comprising humans,
physical objects, and information. The proposed model is constructed of
(abstract) machines of things connected by flows, forming an integrated whole.
It represents a man-made, intentionally constructed system and includes
technical and human things observable in the real world, exemplified by the
study case described in this paper. A specification is constructed from a
maximum of five basic operations: creation, processing, releasing,
transferring, and receiving.Comment: 12 page
Petri Nets and Machines of Things That Flow
Petri nets are an established graphical formalism for modeling and analyzing
the behavior of systems. An important consideration of the value of Petri nets
is their use in describing both the syntax and semantics of modeling
formalisms. Describing a modeling notation in terms of a formal technique such
as Petri nets provides a way to minimize ambiguity. Accordingly, it is
imperative to develop a deep and diverse understanding of Petri nets. This
paper is directed toward a new, but preliminary, exploration of the semantics
of such an important tool. Specifically, the concern in this paper is with the
semantics of Petri nets interpreted in a modeling language based on the notion
of machines of things that flow. The semantics of several Petri net diagrams
are analyzed in terms of flow of things. The results point to the viability of
the approach for exploring the underlying assumptions of Petri nets.Comment: Intelligent Systems Conference (IntelliSys) 2018 6-7 September 2018
London, U
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