Bart Wydaeghe

OMT*, Bridging the Gap between Analysis and Design

This paper presents OMT*, a formal variant of OMT (Object Modeling Technique) designed to bridge the gap between analysis and design. OMT* is a partial result from a larger research effort proposing an integrated methodology and toolset based on the combination of Object-Orientation and Formal-Description Techniques. In this project OMT is used as the systems requirements analysis technique while SDL (Specification and Description Language) is targeted for the design phase. OMT* is defined by its abstract syntax, static semantics and transformational semantic, i.e. a set of transformation rules mapping OMT* constructs to SDL constructs. OMT* is more strict than full OMT, the possible interpretations of OMT constructs are reduced and the relations between the different OMT models are formalised. The translation from OMT* to SDL preserves the logical structure of the specification.

PacoSuite and JAsCo: a visual component composition environment with advanced aspect separation features

This paper presents the visual component composition environment called PacoSuite and the tools needed for the JAsCo aspect-oriented programming language. PacoSuite allows plug-and-play component composition without in-depth technical knowledge of the components. PacoSuite uses three constructs: components, composition patterns and composition adapters. A composition pattern is an abstract and reusable description of a collaboration between components. A composition adapter on the other hand, describes transformations of a composition of components and is used to modularize crosscutting concerns. A composition adapter is able to have an implementation in the JAsCo language in order to invasively alter components. Compatibility of a given collaboration is checked using finite automaton theory and the glue-code to make the composition work is generated automatically.

Separating concerns in a high-level component-based context

Abstract Building on the work of architectural description languages and aspect-oriented programming, we try to improve current visual component composition environments. In our research, we introduced the concept of a composition pattern to lift the abstraction level of current visual wiring to a protocol rather than event/action pairs. This work is summarised briefly in this paper before we present the main topic: composition adapters. In component-based development, the components are the natural unit of modularisation. However, there will always be concerns that cannot be confined to one single component. We introduce composition adapters as a means to localize crosscutting concerns in a separate entity. We use state information deduced from the composition pattern to weave composition adapters into the component-based application. In this paper, we explain how composition adapters are checked on their compatibility with the composition pattern and how this state based insertion of composition adapters is done.

Translating OMT to SDL, coupling object-oriented analysis and design with formal description techniques

This paper presents an automated transition from OMT* (a formal variant of OMT) towards SDL. This work is a partial result from a larger research effort proposing an integrated methodology and toolset based on the combination of Object-Orientation and Formal-Description Techniques. In this project OMT is used as the systems requirements analysis technique and OMT* for for System Design, while SDL (Specification Description Language) is targeted for the design phase. The transition from OMT to OMT* is manual process described by a set of guidelines (Holz et al. 1995) We developed a transformational semantic for OMT*, i.e. a set of transformation rules mapping OMT* constructs to SDL constructs. The translation from OMT* to SDL preserves the logical structure of the specification. This way it is possible to preserve the efforts done in the analysis phase and to make a smooth transition towards design.

Multi-level Component Oriented Methodology for Service Creation

This paper presents the COSEC methodology, a component oriented methodology for service creation. Important are the different abstraction levels, targeting a wide range of users, going from software engineers to high-end users. On a low level we create reusable developer components that groups consistent fragments of UML, SDL and Java. These developer components are composed and augmented with user-interface aspects, documentation and customization parameters to form a customer component. On a higher level, these customer components are customized and composed within a customer framework, yielding in an executable service. This combination forms an answer to the challenge of organizational and technological problems in the creation of telecom services.

Visual composition with SDL Beans

In this paper we present a technique that allows combining the best out of three worlds: component orientation formal specification in SDL and Visual Bean composition. SDL components are specified with Bean-like conventions. From the SDL Bean specifications, skeleton Java Beans are generated and visually composed in an existing Visual Bean environment. From this composition, a SDL system is generated that wires the SDL Beans and that can be executed or simulated.

Component composition (poster session)

This paper depicts a novel approach to document components in a uniform and abstract way. Every use of component is expressed with a specific type of message sequence chart (MSG), using a limited set of standard primitives with predefined semantics. These primitives are mapped on the actual API of the component(s). This documentation is used to find compatible components and to detect conflicts when composing components. Because of the standard set of primitives, components from different sources can be matched and developers do not have to rely on the concrete API. The behavioural flavour of MSCs is suited to document, as a set of usage scenarios, how a component expects to interact with other components when configured in an application. This complements existing documentation techniques.