Juan M. Vara

Applying CIM-to-PIM model transformations for the service-oriented development of information systems

Context: Model-driven approaches deal with the provision of models, transformations between them and code generators to address software development. This approach has the advantage of defining a conceptual structure, where the models used by business managers and analysts can be mapped into more detailed models used by software developers. This alignment between high-level business specifications and the lower-level information technologies (ITs) models is crucial to the field of service-oriented development, where meaningful business services and process specifications are those relevant to real business scenarios. Objective: This paper presents a model-driven approach which, starting from high-level computational-independent business models (CIMs) - the business view - sets out guidelines for obtaining lower-level platform-independent behavioural models (PIMs) - the information system view. A key advantage of our approach is the use of real high-level business models, not just requirements models, which, by means of model transformations, helps software developers to make the most of the business knowledge for specifying and developing business services. Method: This proposal is framed in a method for service-oriented development of information systems whose main characteristic is the use of services as first-class objects. The method follows an MDA-based approach, proposing a set of models at different levels of abstraction and model transformations to connect them. Results: The paper present the complete set of CIM and PIM metamodels and the specification of the mappings between them, which clear advantage is the support for the alignment between high-level business view and ITs. The proposed model-driven process is being implemented in an MDA tool. A first prototype has been used to develop a travel agency case study that illustrates the proposal. Conclusion: This study shows how a model-driven approach helps to solve the alignment problem between the business view and the information system view that arises when adopting service-oriented approaches for software development.

WSDL automatic generation from UML models in a MDA framework

In this work, we introduce the MIDAS-CASE subsystem for Web services. MIDAS-CASE is a MDA tool for Web information systems development. Using an extension of UML language for representing the Web services Description Language standard, the MIDAS-CASE subsystem proposed supports the modeling of Web services in extended UML and the automatic generation of the respective WSDL description for the Web service modeled.

Applying MDE to the (semi-)automatic development of model transformations

ContextModel transformations play a key role in any software development project based on Model-Driven Engineering principles. However, despite the inherent complexity of developing model transformations, little attention has been paid to the application of MDE principles to the development of model transformations. ObjectiveIn order to: (a) address the inherent complexity of model transformation development and (b) alleviate the problem of the diversity of the languages that are available for model transformation, this paper proposes the application of MDE principles to the development of model transformations. In particular, we have adopted the idea of handling model transformations as transformation models in order to be able to model, transform and generate model transformations. MethodThe proposal follows an MDA-based approach that entails the modeling of model transformations at different abstraction levels and the connection of these models by means of model transformations. It has been empirically validated by conducting a set of case studies following a systematic research methodology. ResultsThe proposal was supported by the introduction of MeTAGeM, a methodological and technical framework for the model-driven development of model transformations that bundles a set of Domain-Specific Languages for modeling model transformations with a set of model transformations in order to bridge these languages and (semi-)automate model transformations development. ConclusionThis paper serves to show that a semi-automatic development process for model transformations is not only desirable but feasible. This process, based on MDE principles, helps to ease the task of developing model transformations and to alleviate interoperability issues between model transformation languages.

Model-Driven Engineering as a new landscape for traceability management: A systematic literature review

Context: Model-Driven Engineering provides a new landscape for dealing with traceability in software development. Objective: Our goal is to analyze the current state of the art in traceability management in the context of Model-Driven Engineering. Method: We use the systematic literature review based on the guidelines proposed by Kitchenham. We propose five research questions and six quality assessments. Results: Of the 157 relevant studies identified, 29 have been considered primary studies. These studies have resulted in 17 proposals. Conclusion: The evaluation shows that the most addressed operations are storage, CRUD and visualization, while the most immature operations are exchange and analysis traceability information.

A framework for model-driven development of information systems

Highlights? This study examines a set of methodological and technical decisions. ? They guide the building of frameworks for model-driven development of information systems. ? The idea is to combine tools supporting different model-driven engineering tasks. ? The result is a toolkit that bundles a set of interrelated domain-specific languages. ? A prototype is introduced to illustrate the proposal. In recent years, the impact of the model-driven engineering (MDE) paradigm has resulted in the advent of a number of model-based methodological proposals that leverage the use of models at any stage of the development cycle. Apart from promoting the role of models, MDE is notable for leveraging the level of automation along the development process. For this to be achieved there is a need of supporting frameworks, tools or environments. This way, while accompanying any methodological proposal of the corresponding technical support has been traditionally recognized as a good practice, it becomes a mandatory requirement in MDE contexts. To address this task, this work presents in a systematic and reasoned way the set of methodological and technical decisions that drove the specification of M2DAT, a technical solution for model-driven development of Information Systems and its reference implementation: M2DAT-DB, a DSL toolkit for model-driven development of modern DB schemas. The objective of this work is to put forward the conclusions and decisions derived from the experience of the authors when designing and building such framework. As a result, this work will help not only MDE practitioners, but also SE practitioners wishing to bring the advantages of MDE to their fields of interest.

Model transformation for object-relational database development

In this paper we define and formalize the model transformations that complete the methodological approach for the development of Object-Relational (OR) Databases (DB) proposed in MIDAS, a model driven methodology for the development of Web Information Systems. In this proposal the Platform Independent Model is the conceptual data model while the Platform Specific Model is the Object-Relational model that represents the OR DB schema. Since both of them will be represented in UML, we also summarize an UML profile for OR DB modeling. In this work we focus on the formalization of the mappings needed to get the OR DB schema from the conceptual data model. We have first specified them with natural language to later formalize them with graph transformation rules.

Model transformations for hypertext modeling on web information systems

In response to the lack of suitable methods to build the navigation model of Web Information Systems (WIS), we presented in past works HM3, the Hypertext Modeling Method of MIDAS, a methodological framework for the agile development of WIS. We proposed a method to obtain the navigation model of a WIS, starting from the conceptual data model and the user requirements, collected in the use case model. In this work, continuing with the MDA approach for WIS development that we are following with HM3, we define the model to model transformations needed at the PIM level to get the hypertext model from the behavioral and content models. Firstly we specify the transformation rules with natural language to later map them to graph transformation rules.

Adapting transformations to metamodel changes via external transformation composition

Evolution is inherent to software systemsbecause of the rapid improvement of technologies and business logic. As a software development paradigm, model driven engineering (MDE) is also affected by this problem. More concretely, being metamodels the cornerstone of MDE, their evolution impacts the rest of software artefacts involved in a development process, i.e., models and transformations. The influence over models has been tackled and partially solved in previous works. This paper focuses on the impact over transformations. We propose an approach to adapt transformations by means of external transformation composition. That is, we chain impacted transformations to particular adaptation transformations which deal with either refactoring/destruction changes or construction changes. Our approach semi-automatically generates such transformations by using the AtlanMod matching language, a DSL to define model matching strategies. To provide with a proof of concept for our proposal, we adapt transformations written in terms of object-relational database metamodels when such metamodels evolve in time.

Supporting Model---Driven Development of Object---Relational Database Schemas: A Case Study

This paper completes our proposal for automatic development of Object-Relational (OR) DataBase (DB) schemas. By means of a case study, this work focuses on presenting the tooling developed to support the whole process. As usual, the proposal starts from a conceptual data model (Platform Independent Model) depicted in a UML class diagram. Then, the conceptual data model is mapped into an OR DB model (Platform Specific Model) that represents the OR DB schema. To that end, we have implemented a set of formalized mapping rules using the ATL language. Finally, the SQL code that implements the modeled schema in Oracle 10g is automatically generated from the OR model by means of a MOFScript model to text transformation. Moreover, since the OR model could be refined along the design process, we have developed a graphical editor for OR DB models.

Dealing with Traceability in the MDDof Model Transformations

Traceability has always been acknowledged as a relevant topic in Software Engineering. However, keeping track of the relationships between the different assets involved in a development process is a complex and tedious task. The fact that the main assets handled in any model-driven engineering project are models and model transformations eases the task. In order to take advantage of this scenario, which has not been appropriately capitalized on by the most widely adopted model transformation languages before, this work presents MeTAGeM-Trace, a methodological and technical proposal with which to support the model-driven development of model transformations that include trace generation. The underlying idea is to start from a high-level specification of the transformation which is subsequently refined into lower-level transformation models in terms of a set of DSLs until the source code that implements the transformation can be generated. Running this transformation produces not only the corresponding target models, but also a trace model between the elements of the source and target models. As part of the proposal, an EMF-based toolkit has been developed to support the development of ATL and ETL model transformations. This toolkit has been empirically validated by conducting a set of case studies following a systematic research methodology.