Ingénierie Dirigée par les Modèles (IDM) -- État de l'art

L'ingénierie dirigée par les modèles (IDM), ou Model Driven Engineering (MDE) en anglais, a permis plusieurs améliorations significatives dans le développement de systèmes complexes en permettant de se concentrer sur une préoccupation plus abstraite que la programmation classique. Il s'agit d'une forme d'ingénierie générative dans laquelle tout ou partie d'une application est engendrée à partir de modèles. Un modèle est une abstraction, une simplification d'un système qui est suffisante pour comprendre le système modélisé et répondre aux questions que l'on se pose sur lui. Un système peut être décrit par différents modèles liés les uns aux autres. L'idée phare est d'utiliser autant de langages de modélisation différents (Domain Specific Modeling Languages - DSML) que les aspects chronologiques ou technologiques du développement du système le nécessitent. La définition de ces DSML, appelée métamodélisation, est donc une problématique clé de cette nouvelle ingénierie. Par ailleurs, afin de rendre opérationnels les modèles (pour la génération de code, de documentation et de test, la validation, la vérification, l'exécution, etc.), une autre problématique clé est celle de la transformation de modèle. Nous proposons dans ce document une présentation des principes clés de cette nouvelle ingénierie. Nous introduisons dans un premier temps la notion de modèle, les travaux de normalisation de l'OMG, et les principes de généralisation offerts à travers les DSML. Nous détaillons ensuite les deux axes principaux de l'IDM. La métamodélisation d'abord, dont le but est d'assurer une définition correcte des DSML. Nous illustrons cette partie par la définition de SimplePDL, un langage simple de description de procédé de développement. Nous présentons ensuite les principes de la transformation de modèle et les outils actuellement disponibles. Nous concluons enfin par une discussion sur les limites actuelles de l'IDM

Personal report of the 3rd ECMDA-FA'07 conference

Manuscripts notes taken during the conference ECMDA 2007. I give the full conference program (title of the article and name of the person who introduced) detailing some of the presentations

A Design Pattern for Executable DSML

Model executability is now a key concern in model-driven engineering, mainly to support early validation and verification (V&V). Some approaches have allowed to weave executability into metamodels, defining executable domain-specific modeling languages (DSML). Then, model validation may be achieved by direct interpretation of the conforming models. Other approaches address model executability by model compilation, allowing to reuse the virtual machines or V&V tools existing in the target domain. Nevertheless, systematic methods are not available to help the language designer in the definition of such an execution semantics and related support tools. For instance, simulators are mostly hand-crafted in a tool specific manner for each DSML. In this paper, we propose to reify the elements commonly used to support execution in a DSML. We infer a design pattern (called Executable DSML pattern) providing a general reusable solution for the expression of the executability concerns in DSML. It favors flexibility and improves reusability in the definition of semantics-based tools for DSML. We illustrate how this pattern can be applied to V&V and models at runtime, and give insights on the development of generic and generative tools for model animators

A Design Pattern to Build Executable DSMLs and associated V&V tools

International audienceModel executability is now a key concern in model-driven engineering, mainly to support early validation and verification (V&V). Some approaches allow to weave executability into metamodels, defining executable domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs). Model validation can then be achieved by simulation and graphical animation through direct interpretation of the conforming models. Other approaches address model executability by model compilation, allowing to reuse the virtual machines or V\&V tools existing in the target domain. Nevertheless, systematic methods are currently not available to help the language designer in the definition of such an execution semantics and related tools. For instance, simulators are mostly hand-crafted in a tool specific manner for each DSML. In this paper, we propose to reify the elements commonly used to support state-based execution in a DSML. We infer a design pattern (called Executable DSML pattern) providing a general reusable solution for the expression of the executability concerns in DSMLs. It favors flexibility and improves reusability in the definition of semantics-based tools for DSMLs. We illustrate how this pattern can be applied to ease the development of V&V tools

A Proof Assistant Based Formalization of components in MDE

International audienceModel driven engineering (MDE) now plays a key role in the development of safety critical systems through the use of early validation and verification of models, and the automatic generation of software and hardware artifacts from the validated and verified models. In order to ease the integration of formal specification and verification technologies, various formalizations of the MDE technologies were proposed by different authors using term or graph rewriting, proof assistants, logical frameworks, etc. The use of components is also mandatory to improve the efficiency of system development. Invasive Software Composition (ISC) has been proposed by Assman to add a generic component structure to existing Domain Specific Modeling Languages in MDE. This approach is the basis of the ReuseWare toolset. We present in this paper an extension of a formal embedding of some key aspects of MDE in set theory in order to formalize ISC and prove the correctness of the proposed approach with respect to the conformance relation with the base metamodel. The formal embedding we rely on was developed by some of the authors and then implemented using the Calculus of Inductive Construction and the Coq proof-assistant. This work is a first step in the formalization of composable verification technologies in order to ease its integration for DSML extended with component features using ISC

Vegetation patch effects on flow resistance at channel scale

International audienceThanks to a specific experimental design in a controlled channel, this paper aimed at quantifying how patches of four different ditches plant species affect integrated flow resistance parameters, the Manning coefficient. These plants, frequently encountered in the farmland ditches and irrigation channels of the south of France, were selected according to a large range of hydrophilic requirements, flexibility and branching complexity related to the plant blockage factor. Eight different spatial patches (regular, random, lateral or central patches) of each plant with crescent or similar plant densities were implanted at the bottom of a controlled channel where the water levels and water velocities were measured for three different discharges in steady and unsteady flow conditions. Resistance parameters (Manning parameters) were then estimated from the total head-loss, or from flow propagation velocity in the channel thanks to inversion of an hydrodynamic model. These experiments allow us to test the significance effect of channel vegetation patches and densities on flow resistance parameters at the reach scale

Towards Scalable Multidimensional Execution Traces for xDSMLs

International audienceExecutable Domain Specific Modeling Languages (xDSML) opens many possibilities in terms of early verification and validation (V&V) of systems, including the use of dynamic V&V approaches. Such approaches rely on the notion of execution trace, i.e. the evolution of a system during a run. To benefit from dynamic V&V approaches, it is therefore necessary to characterize what is the structure of the executions traces of a given xDSML. Our goal is to provide an approach to design trace metamodels for xDSMLs. We identify seven problems that must be considered when modeling execution traces, including concurrency, modularity, and scalability. Then we present our envisioned approach to design scalable multidimensional trace metamodels for xDSMLs. Our work in progress relies on the dimensions of a trace (i.e. subsets of mu- table elements of the traced model) to provide an original structure that faces the identified problems, along with a trace API to manipulate them

Teaching MDE through the Formal Verification of Process Models

International audienceModel Driven Engineering (MDE) and formal methods (FM) play a key role in the development of Safety Critical Systems (SCS). They promote user oriented abstraction and formal specification using Domain Specific Modeling Languages (DSML), early Validation and formal Verification (V&V) using efficient dedicated technologies and Automatic Code and Documentation Generation. Their combined use allow to improve system qualities and reduce development costs. However, in most computer science curriculae, both domains are usually taught independently. MDE is associated to practical software engineering and FM to theoretical computer science. This contribution relates a course about MDE for SCS development that bridges the gap between these domains. It describes the content of the course and provides the lessons learned from its teaching. It focuses on early formal verification using model checking of a DSML for development process modeling. MDE technologies are illustrated both on language engineering for CASE tool development and on development process modeling. The case study also highlights the unification power of MDE as it does not target traditional executable software