Levi Lúcio

Model transformation intents and their properties

The notion of model transformation intent is proposed to capture the purpose of a transformation. In this paper, a framework for the description of model transformation intents is defined, which includes, for instance, a description of properties a model transformation has to satisfy to qualify as a suitable realization of an intent. Several common model transformation intents are identified, and the framework is used to describe six of them in detail. A case study from the automotive industry is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed framework for identifying crucial properties of model transformations with different intents and to illustrate the wide variety of model transformation intents that an industrial model-driven software development process typically encompasses.

Replica Management in the European DataGrid Project

Within the European DataGrid project, Work Package 2 has designed and implemented a set of integrated replica management services for use by data intensive scientific applications. These services, based on the web services model, enable movement and replication of data at high speed from one geographical site to another, management of distributed replicated data, optimization of access to data, and the provision of a metadata management tool. In this paper we describe the architecture and implementation of these services and evaluate their performance under demanding Grid conditions.

A technique for automatic validation of model transformations

We present in this paper a technique for proving properties about model transformations. The properties we are concerned about relate the structure of an input model with the structure of the transformed model. The main highlight of our approach is that we are able to prove the properties for all models, i.e. the transformation designer may be certain about the structural soundness of the results of his/her transformations. In order to achieve this we have designed and experimented with a transformation model checker, which builds what we call a state space for a transformation. That state space is then used as in classical model checking to prove the property or, in case the property does not hold to produce a counterexample. If the property holds this information can be used as a certification for the transformation, otherwise the counterexample can be used as debug information during the transformation design process.

DSLTrans: a turing incomplete transformation language

In this paper we present DSLTrans: a visual language and a tool for model transformations. We aim at tackling a couple of important challenges in model transformation languages -- transformation termination and confluence. The contribution of this paper is the proposition of a transformation language where all possible transformations are guaranteed to be terminating and confluent by construction. The resulting transformation language is simple, turing incomplete and includes transformation abstractions to support transformations in a software language engineering context. Our explanation of DSLTrans includes a complete formal description of our visual language and its properties.

Towards a model transformation intent catalog

We report on our ongoing effort to build a catalog of model transformation intents that describes common uses of model transformations in Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) and the properties they must or may possess. We present a preliminary list of intents and common properties. One intent (transformation for analysis) is described in more detail and the description is used to identify transformations with the same intent in a case study on the use of MDE techniques for the development of control software for a power window.

FTG+PM: An Integrated Framework for Investigating Model Transformation Chains

In this paper, we describe our ongoing work on model transformation chains. Model transformation chains refer to the sequences of model transformations in Model Driven Engineering (MDE). The transformations represent and formalise typical model/software engineering activities, and their chaining is the natural composition of such activities. Model transformation chains found in industrial practice vary widely, depending on the specific domain they are used in. By explicitly modelling development activities, these activities can be analysed and the MDE process may be improved. As a step towards such analyses, we propose an integrated framework to describe all the artifacts involved in model transformation chains, as well as the means to execute “enact” those chains. We describe the Formalism Transformation Graph + Process Model (FTG+PM) which is at the heart of our framework in detail.

ProMoBox: A Framework for Generating Domain-Specific Property Languages

Specifying and verifying properties of the modelled system has been mostly neglected by domain-specific modelling (DSM) approaches. At best, this is only partially supported by translating models to formal representations on which properties are specified and evaluated based on logic-based formalisms, such as linear temporal logic. This contradicts the DSM philosophy as domain experts are usually not familiar with the logics space. To overcome this shortcoming, we propose to shift property specification and verification tasks up to the domain-specific level. The ProMoBox framework consists of (i) generic languages for modelling properties and representing verification results, (ii) a fully automated method to specialize and integrate these generic languages to a given DSM language, and (iii) a verification backbone based model checking directly plug-able to DSM environments. In its current state, ProMoBox offers the designer modelling support for defining temporal properties, and for visualizing verification results, all based on a given DSM language. We report results of applying ProMoBox to a case study of an elevator controller.

Advances in Model-Driven Security

Sound methodologies for constructing security-critical systems are extremely important in order to confront the increasingly varied security threats. As a response to this need, Model-Driven Security has emerged in the early 2000s as a specialized Model-Driven Engineering approach for supporting the development of security-critical systems. In this chapter we summarize the most important developments of Model-Driven Security during the past decade. In order to do so we start by building a taxonomy of the most important concepts of this domain. We then use our taxonomy to describe and evaluate a set of representative and influential Model-Driven Security approaches in the literature. In our development of this topic we concentrate on the concepts shared by Model-Driven Engineering and Model-Driven Security. This allows us to identify and debate the advantages, disadvantages, and open issues when applying Model-Driven Engineering to the Information Security domain. This chapter provides a broad view of Model-Driven Security and is intended as an introduction to Model-Driven Security for students, researchers, and practitioners.

The FTG+PM framework for multi-paradigm modelling: an automotive case study

In recent years, many new concepts, methodologies, and tools have emerged, which have made Model Driven Engineering (MDE) more usable, precise and automated. We have earlier proposed a conceptual framework, FTG+PM, that acts as a guide for carrying out model transformations, and as a basis for unifying key MDE practices, namely multi-paradigm modelling, meta-modelling, and model transformation. The FTG+PM consists of the Formalism Transformation Graph (FTG) and its complement, the Process Model (PM), and charts activities in the MDE lifecycle such as requirements development, domain-specific design, verification, simulation, analysis, calibration, deployment, code generation, execution, etc. In this paper, we apply the FTG+PM approach to a case study of a power window in the automotive domain. We present a FTG+PM model for the automotive domain, and describe the MDE process we applied based on our experiences with the power window system.

Online software for the ATLAS test beam data acquisition system

The Online Software is the global system software of the ATLAS data acquisition (DAQ) system, responsible for the configuration, control and information sharing of the ATLAS DAQ System. A test beam facility offers the ATLAS detectors the possibility to study important performance aspects as well as to proceed on the way to the final ATLAS DAQ system. Last year, three subdetectors of ATLAS-separately and combined-were successfully using the Online Software for the control of their datataking. In this paper, we describe the different components of the Online Software together with their usage at the ATLAS test beam.