Jean-Paul Tremblay

The Metaview system for many specification environments

The use of metasystems, which can automatically generate the major parts of a software-development environment, for computer-aided software (CASE) engineering is discussed. One such system, called Metaview, is considered. Environment definition and tool development using Metaview are examined.<<ETX>>

The REVIEW system: from formal specifications to natural language

Formal descriptions, while difficult for most human readers to understand, are convenient for specifying large software systems, where completeness and consistency are important issues. Informal specifications can offer advantages in conciseness and readability, but ambiguities and contradictions are an unavoidable side-effect. Since a specification often acts as a formal contract between the software developer and the customer, it is essential that both sides be able to fully understand the specification document. Systems have been proposed which help the software client better understand the specification by automatically paraphrasing it in natural language. The authors describe the architecture of the REVIEW system, which forms a part of the Metaview metasystem for capturing requirements information. Some example natural language outputs are shown for a sample requirements database.<<ETX>>

Integrating software engineering in introductory computing courses

An introductory course for undergraduate computing students aims to integrate data structures and software engineering. In addition to completing assignments involving analysis, modeling, and software design, students work in teams using a 10-step process to develop an object-oriented software system.

Meta Systems For Information Processing System Specification Environments

AbstractMany computerized tools for developing information processing system specifications have been developed and reported on. A meta system, in the context of this paper, is a computerized system which generates such a set of tools from a specification in the meta language. This survey presents criteria for comparing such meta systems and surveys several meta systems reported in the literature.

Providing support for process model enaction in the Metaview metasystem

Process modeling is a means of formally defining many aspects of the software development process through the use of models. Partial automation of a process model can help to improve the software process. Menial or tedious tasks, such as collecting metrics, no longer have to be the responsibility of the developer. Coordination of effort can also be enhanced through automation. Automation can be achieved through the development of a process modeling support environment and the appropriate CASE tools. This is one of the major goals of the Metaview project, which involves the design and development of a metasystem to generate such an environment. A key requirement for this type of support environment is to use an active database. Active databases can react through an action to events, such as changes to a particular data item, thereby giving them the flexibility needed for process modeling. The paper presents an execution model for the support of process model enaction in the Metaview system. The execution model is intended to support a wide variety of process models and process modeling languages. The model is based upon the event rule model used in active databases.<<ETX>>

Structured systems analysis using SPSL/SPSA

Abstract This paper describes how a structured systems analysis methodology can be supported using SPSL/SPSA, a computer-aided analysis and documentation tool. The integration of the methodology and the tool is illustrated using a case study approach. The use of various SPSA reports to assist in analyzing a system description in accordance with the methodology is also outlined.

An Environment Definition Model For Metasystem Support

In the context of this paper, a metasystem is a system used to create information system development environments. The paper reviews previous research in the area of metasysterns and specifies a number of key factors that should be considered in metasystem development. A metamodel for representing environment definitions is then presented. A unique feature of this model is its support of component aggregation. Using the metamodel as a basis, an environment model definition language, EMDL, is derived for expressing environment definitions. An example that illustrates the definition of a simple data flow model (DFM) in EMDL is given, and a small example specification that is based on DFM is described. Finally, some interesting database and tool design problems that are being addressed in the Metaview metasystem are outlined.