Checking Full Satisfiability of Conceptual Models⋆

2007

UML class diagrams play a central role in the design and specification of software, databases and ontologies. The model driven architecture approach emphasizes the central role that models play, towards achieving reliable software. It is important that models are correct and that problems are detected as early as possible in the software design process. However, current case tools do not support reasoning tasks about class diagrams and enable the construction of erroneous models. There is an urgent need for methods for detecting analysis and design problems. In this paper, we present a linear programming based method for reasoning about finite satisfiability of UML class diagrams with constrained generalization sets. The method is simple and efficient and can be easily added to a case tool. It improves over existing methods that require exponential resources and extends them to new elements of class diagrams.

ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, 2013

Models lie at the heart of the emerging model-driven engineering approach. In order to guarantee precise, consistent, and correct models, there is a need for efficient powerful methods for verifying model correctness. Class diagram is the central language within UML. Its correctness problems involve issues of contradiction, namely the consistency problem, and issues of finite instantiation, namely the finite satisfiability problem. This article analyzes the problem of finite satisfiability of class diagrams with class hierarchy constraints and generalization-set constraints. The article introduces the FiniteSat algorithm for efficient detection of finite satisfiability in such class diagrams, and analyzes its limitations in terms of complex hierarchy structures. FiniteSat is strengthened in two directions. First, an algorithm for identification of the cause for a finite satisfiability problem is introduced. Second, a method for propagation of generalization-set constraints in a clas...

—Unified Modelling Language (UML) is as a standard object-oriented modelling notation that is widely accepted and used in software development industry. In general, the UML notation is informally defined in term of natural language description (English) and Object Constraint Language (OCL) which makes difficult to formally analyzed and error-prone. In this paper, we elucidate the preliminary result on an approach to formally define UML class diagram using logic-based representation formalism. We represent how to define the UML class diagram using Description Logics (DLs).

ICSEA 2011, The Sixth …, 2011

Abstract: In view of the informal semantic of UML, there is a high risk of introducing ambiguities and contradictions in the modelled software. A considerable amount of literature has been published on UML inconsistencies. These studies have demonstrated the ...

2009

Models lie at the heart of the emerging Model-driven Engineering approach. In order to guarantee precise, consistent and correct models, there is an urgent need for efficient reasoning methods for verifying model correctness. This paper extends and strengthens our previous work on efficient recognition of finite satisfiability problems in UML class diagrams with constrained generalization sets. First, algorithm FiniteSat is simplified into a single stage process, yielding a more compact linear inequality system. The main contribution of the paper is a method for propagation of disjoint constraints within complex class hierarchy structures, which meaningfully extends the scope of the FiniteSat algorithm. The method relies on a thorough analysis of the interaction between disjoint constraints and the structure of class hierarchy. It is recommended as a pre-processing stage, and being an anytime algorithm, even partial application is useful.

… of the KI'2001 Workshop on …, 2001

In this paper we study how automated reasoning systems based on Description Logics (DLs) can be used for reasoning about UML class diagrams. The ability of reasoning automatically on UML class diagrams makes it possible to provide computer aided support during the application design phase in order to automatically detect relevant properties, such as inconsistencies and redundancies. We show that UML class diagrams can be formalized as knowledge bases expressed in the DL DLR. DLR knowledge bases can be translated into knowledge bases expressed in the variants of ALCQI accepted by state-of-the-art DL-based systems. Hence, in principle, the reasoning capabilities of such systems can be used to reason on UML class diagrams. However, we report some experiments indicating that state-of-the-art systems have still difficulty in dealing with the resulting knowledge bases.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2007

Finite model reasoning in UML class diagrams is an important task for assessing the quality of the analysis phase in the development of software applications in which it is assumed that the number of objects of the domain is finite. In this paper, we show how to encode finite model reasoning in UML class diagrams as a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), exploiting techniques developed in description logics. In doing so we set up and solve an intermediate CSP problem to deal with the explosion of "class combinations" arising in the encoding. To solve the resulting CSP problems we rely on the use of off-the-shelf tools for constraint modeling and programming. As a result, we obtain, to the best of our knowledge, the first implemented system that performs finite model reasoning on UML class diagrams.

Journal of Systems and Software, 2014

Assessment of the correctness of software models is a key issue to ensure the quality of the final application. To this end, this paper presents an automatic method for the verification of UML class diagrams extended with OCL constraints. Our method checks compliance of the diagram with respect to several correctness properties including weak and strong satisfiability or absence of constraint redundancies among others. The method works by translating the UML/OCL model into a Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) that is evaluated using state-of-the-art constraint solvers to determine the correctness of the initial model. Our approach is particularly relevant to current MDA and MDD methods where software models are the primary artifacts of the development process and the basis for the (semi-)automatic code-generation of the final application.

2001

Abstract. In this paper1 we formalize UML class diagrams in terms of a logic belonging to Description Logics, which are subsets of First-Order Logic that have been thoroughly investigated in Knowledge Representation. The logic we have devised is specifically tailored towards the high expressiveness of UML information structuring mechanisms, and allows one to formally model important properties which typically can only be specified by means of qualifiers.

Intelligent Automation and Soft Computing, 2021

Unified Modeling Language (UML) models are considered important artifacts of model-driven engineering (MDE). This can automatically transform models to other paradigms and programming languages. If a model has bugs, then MDE can transfer these to a new code. The class model is a key component of UML that is used in analysis and design. Without a formal foundation, UML can create only graphical diagrams, making it impossible to verify properties such as satisfiability, consistency and consequences. Different techniques have been used to verify UML class models, but these do not support some important components. This paper transforms and verifies unsupported components such as XOR association constraints and dependency relationships of a UML class model through ontology. We use various UML class models to validate the proposed ontology-based method, easy and efficient transformation and verification of unsupported elements. The results show this approach can verify large and complex models.