Applying MTBE Manually: a Method and an Example

Information & Software Technology, 2019

In the Model Driven Development (MDD) approach, model transformations are responsible for the semiautomation of software development process converting models between different abstraction levels. The development of model transformations involves a complexity inherent to the transformation domain, in addition to the complexity of software development in general. Therefore, the construction of model transformations requires software engineering feature such as processes and languages to facilitate its development and maintenance. Objective: This paper presents a framework to develop unidirectional relational model transformation using the MDD approach itself, which integrates: (i) a software development process suitable for the model transformation domain (ii) a Domain specific language for transformation modeling (iii) a transformation chain, to (semi) automate the proposed process, and (iv) a development environment to support it. Methods: The proposal systematizes the development of model transformation, following the MDD principles. An iterative and incremental process guides transformation development from requirement specification to transformation codification. The proposal has been evaluated through a case study and a controlled experiment. Results: The framework enables model transformation specification at a high abstraction level and (semi) automatically transforms it into models at a low abstraction level until the transformation code. The results of the case study showed that people with different levels of knowledge of MDD, or without experience in transformation languages, were able to develop transformations through the framework and generated executable code. Conclusions: The framework integrates the essential elements involved in the development of model transformation and enables the abstraction of technological details. The results of the case study and controlled experiment showed the feasibility of the proposal and its use in dealing with the complexity involved in model transformation development.

2020

Model Driven Development is an approach that makes use of models instead of code in software development. At its core, there is a transformation chain responsible for the (semi) automation of the development process converting models into models until code. The development of transformations has been a challenge as there is an inherent complexity of the transformation domain in addition to the complexity of the software being constructed using these transformations. In order to assist this development as well as improve transformation quality, it is important to adopt software engineering facilities such as processes, languages and other techniques. This paper presents a systematic literature review of strategies currently proposed to develop model transformations. We aim to investigate development processes or any other strategies used to guide transformation development, the phases of software development life cycle considered, modeling languages adopted for specification and also...

Programming technologies have improved continuously during the last decades, but from an Information Systems perspective, some well-known problems associated to the design and implementation of an Information Systems persists. Object-Oriented Methods, Formal Specification Languages, Component-Based Software Production... This is just a very short list of technologies proposed to solve a very old and, at the same time, very wellknown problem: how to produce software of quality. Programming has been the key task during the last 40 years, and the results have not been successful yet. This work will explore the need of facing a sound software production process from a different perspective: the non-programming perspective, where by nonprogramming we mainly mean modeling. Instead of talking about Extreme Programming, we will introduce a Extreme Non-Programming (Extreme Modeling-Oriented) approach. We will base our ideas on the intensive work done during the last years, oriented to the objective of generating code from a higher-level system specification, normally represented as a Conceptual Schema. Nowadays, though, the hip around MDA has given a new push to these strategies. New methods propose sound model transformations which cover all the different steps of a sound software production process from an Information Systems Engineering point of view. This must include Organizational Modeling, Requirements Engineering, Conceptual Modeling and Model-Based Code Generation techniques. In this context, it seems that the time of Model Transformation Technologies is finally here…

… Research, Management and …, 2005

The information transformation problem of model driven software development (MDSD) processes is gaining increasing attentions. In this paper, we present an indepth analysis of the major causes leading to the ambiguities of existing transformation. A metamodel based approach is then proposed to address these causes. A mechanism to generate transformation rules is devised based on a classification of the UML metamodel elements to be used in subsequent transformation processes. Some other critical issues relating to the generated transformation system are also discussed.

2014 IEEE 5th International Conference on Software Engineering and Service Science, 2014

Analysis and design phases are the most crucial part of the software development life-cycle. Reusing the artifacts of these early phases is very beneficial to improve the productivity and software quality. In this paper we analyze the literature on the automatic transformation of artifacts from the problem space (i.e., requirement analysis models) into artifacts in the solution space (i.e., architecture, design and implementation code). The goal is to assess the current state of the art with regard to the ability of automatically reusing previously developed software designs in synthesizing a new design for a given requirement. We surveyed various related areas such as model-driven development and model transformation techniques. Our analysis revealed that this topic has not been satisfactorily covered yet. Accordingly, we propose a framework consists of three stages to address uncovered limitations in current approaches.

2005

Abstract Software model transformation is a key issue in modern software engineering. Currently, new approaches, methods and techniques are being researched built intensively on expressive and efficient transformation systems. There is a demand for researching the theoretical and practical foundations of these transformation systems.

2015

Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is gaining popularity as an alternative to the code-centric software development approach. Model Transformation (MT) is one of the main components of MDE. MT can be visualized as a program with models as inputs. Model evaluation and processing is automated by a Model Transformation tool. In this paper, we walk through the terminologies involved in MT and elaborate the benefits of MT with practical usage scenarios. The paper highlights the most recent challenges faced in the process to make model transformation more sophisticated. The intent of the paper is to portray a complete picture of model transformation in a way to relate the practical implementations with respect to the theoretical aspects of MT. The paper concludes by putting lights on some of the current trends in the field and the areas in model transformation where significant contribution is the needed.

2010

Abstract. Model transformation is a key activity in Model-Driven Engineering (MDE). Transformations map between models, in different languages and/or at different levels of abstraction. Model transformation introduces challenges for specification, verification and validation. Normally, MDE development requires planning which includes metamodel and transformation design and a customized testing.

1 Background Model Transformations in Practice (MTiP) 2005 was a workshop which pro-vided a forum for the model transformation community to discuss practical model transformation issues. Although many different model transformation ap-proaches have been proposed and explored in recent years, there has been little work on comparing and contrasting various approaches. Without such compar-isons, it is hard to assess new model transformation approaches such as the up-coming OMG MOF/QVT recommendation, or to discern sensible future paths for the area. Our aims with the workshop were to create a forum that would help lead to an increased understanding of the relative merits of different model transformation techniques and approaches. A more advanced understanding of such merits is of considerable benefit to both the model transformation and wider modelling communities. In order to achieve the workshops' aims, we took an unusual approach in the Call for Papers (CfP). We decided that th...

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development, 2015

The use of Model Driven Development (MDD) is increasing in industry. When a Non Functional Requirement (NFR) not considered in the development must be added metamodels, models and also transformations are affected. Tasks for defining and maintaining model transformation rules can be complex in MDD. Model Transformation By Example (MTBE) approaches have been proposed to ease the development of transformation rules. In this paper an approach based on MTBE to derive the adaptation operations that must be implemented in a legacy model transformation when a NFR appears is presented. The approach derives semi-automatically the model transformations using execution traceability data and models differences. An example where access control property is integrated on a MDD system is introduced to demonstrate the usefulness of the tool to evolve model transformations.