An action semantics for MML

Advanced Information …, 2001

The UML lacks precise and formal foundations for several constructs such as transition guards or method bodies, for which it resorts to semantic loopholes in the form of "uninterpreted" expressions. The Action Semantics proposal aims at filling this gap by providing both a metamodel integrated into the UML metamodel, and a model of execution for these statements. As a future OMG standard, the Action Semantics eases the move to tool interoperability, and allows for executable modeling and simulation. We explore in this paper a specificity of the Action Semantics: its applicability to the UML metamodel, itself a UML model. We show how this approach paves the way for powerful metaprogramming capabilities such as refactoring, aspect weaving, application of design patterns or round-trip engineering. Furthermore, the overhead for designers is minimal, as mappings from usual objectoriented languages to the Action Semantics will be standardized. We focus on an approach for expressing manipulations on UML models with the upcoming Action Semantics. We illustrate this approach by various examples of model transformations.

Information Systems, 2002

J Ucs, 2008

The abstract syntax and static semantics of UML, the widely-used generalpurpose graphical modeling language, have been standardized in a four-layer metamodeling framework. However UML's dynamic semantics, such as UML Precise Action Semantics and the behaviors like activities, interactions and state machines, are only standardized in a natural language-English. It is commonly argued that such informal description inevitably involves ambiguities and lacks rigorousness, precluding the early simulation and reasoning about a UML system design. Here we select Action Semantics (AS) as the vehicle to formalize UML. AS is a mature semantics description framework which has advantages of intelligibility, modularity and practicability. In our approach, we formalize UML indirectly by formalizing its textual correspondent-an extended Action Language, which plays a key role as the interface between UML and its action semantics.

2013 39th Euromicro Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications, 2013

Model-driven engineering has prominently gained consideration as effective substitute of error-prone code-centric development approaches especially for its capability of abstracting the problem through models and then manipulating them to automatically generate target code. Nowadays, thanks to powerful modelling languages, a system can be designed by means of well-specified models that capture both structural as well as behavioural aspects. From them, target implementation is meant to be automatically generated. An example of wellestablished general purpose modelling language is the UML, recently enhanced with the introduction of an action language denominated ALF, both proposed by the OMG.

1999

The Unified Modelling Language is emerging as a de-facto standard for modelling object-oriented systems. However, the semantics document that a part of the standard definition primarily provides a description of the language's syntax and well-formedness rules. The meaning of the language, which is mainly described in English, is too informal

We analyze the current direction of UML Action Language development and provide a classification of the proposed action language structure and statements. We also present a functioning implementation of an action language and discuss our platform for experimenting with Action Language based systems. We propose a novel approach that adopts a bottom-up technique to defining an action language. This approach embeds the action language into a textual environment that includes the UML modeling elements. Unlike current action languages that typically address class diagrams only, our proposal includes class and state machine modeling abstractions as part of the action language. We tackle the problem of modeling-in-text not by introducing yet another programming language, but instead by providing an increased level of abstraction to existing high level programming languages. Both, a textual representation of the model and its visual view represent the same underlying model but from different vantage points. 2. The UAL must allow the invocation of userspecified external code such as legacy code. 3. It must allow embedding of native code. For example, if the target platform is Java, the UAL must allow the embedding of java statements and constructs. The OMG received two proposals and merged them to form the Action Language for Foundational UML (Alf) (Planas et al, 2012).

2004

The Action Semantics for UML provides a standard and platform independent way to describe the behavior of methods and executable actions in object-oriented system design prior to implementation allowing the development of highly automated and optimized code generators for UML CASE tools. Model transformation systems provide visual but formal background to specify arbitrary transformations in the Model Driven Architecture (the leading trend in software engineering). In the current paper, we describe a general encoding of model transformation systems as executable Action Semantics expressions to provide a standard way for automatically generating the implementation of formal (and provenly correct) transformations by off-the-shelf MDA tools. In addition, we point out a weakness in the Action Semantics standard that must be improved to achieve a stand-alone and functionally complete action specification language.

Fundamental Approaches to Software …, 2001

2006

The Meta Object Facility (MOF) [4] is an OMG standard metamodelling language used to define modelling languages, such as UML [3] and the Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) [5]. Using MOF, one can describe the modelling elements and basic structural rules of a language. To capture structural rules that cannot be defined by MOF, the Object Constraint Language (OCL) [1] can be used. While MOF enhanced with OCL can define the structure of a modelling language, it does not contain mechanisms that can effectively capture its behaviour.