Moussa Amrani

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.

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.

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.

Security@Runtime: A Flexible MDE Approach to Enforce Fine-grained Security Policies

In this paper, we present a policy-based approach for automating the integration of security mechanisms into Java-based business applications. In particular, we introduce an expressive Domain Specific modeling Language (Dsl), called Security@Runtime, for the specification of security configurations of targeted systems. The Security@Runtime Dsl supports the expression of authorization, obligation and reaction policies, covering many of the security requirements of modern applications. Security requirements specified in security configurations are enforced using an application-independent Policy Enforcement Point Pep)- Policy Decision Point (Pdp) architecture, which enables the runtime update of security requirements. Our work is evaluated using two systems and its advantages and limitations are discussed.

Towards User-centric DSLs to Manage IoT Systems

Hidden behind the Internet of Things (IoT), many actors are activelly filling the market with devices and services. From this profusion of actors, a large amount of technologies and APIs, sometimes proprietary, are available, making difficult the interoperability and configuration of systems for IoT technicians. In order to define and manipulate devices deployed in domestic environments, we propose IoTDSL, a Domain-Specific Language meant to specify, assemble and describe the behaviour of interconnected devices. Relying on a high-level rule-based language, users in charge of the deployment of IoT infrastructures are able to describe and combine in a declarative manner structural configurations as well as event-based semantics for devices. This way, language users are freed from technical aspects, playing with high-level representations of devices, while the complexity of the concrete implementation is handled in a dedicated layer where high-level rules are mapped to vendor’s API.

Invariant preservation in iterative modeling

In a Model-Driven Development project, models are typically built iteratively to better satisfy a set of requirements. Therefore it is crucial to guarantee that one iteration of a model evolution does not hinder the previous version. In this paper, we focus on invariant preservation of behavioral models expressed in Algebraic Petri Nets. The theory developed is applied to a Multi-Level Security File System modeled iteratively. We also discuss how this approach can be applied on Domain-Specific Languages that are translated to Algebraic Petri Nets.

Multi-timed Bisimulation for Distributed Timed Automata

Timed bisimulation is an important technique which can be used for reasoning about behavioral equivalence between different components of a complex real-time system. The verification of timed bisimulation is a difficult and challenging problem because the state explosion caused by both functional and timing constraints must be taken into account. Timed bisimulation was shown decidable for Timed Automata (TA). Distributed TA and TA with Independent Clocks (icTA) were introduced to model Distributed Real-time Systems. They are a variant of TA with local clocks that may not run at the same rate. In this paper, we first propose to extend the theory of Timed Labeled Transition Systems to Multi-Timed Labeled Transition Systems, and relate them by an extension of timed bisimulation to multi-timed bisimulation. We prove the decidability of multi-timed bisimulation and present an EXPTIME algorithm for deciding whether two icTA are multi-timed bisimilar. For multi-timed bisimilarity, an extension of the standard refinement algorithm is described.

Complex Event Processing for User-Centric Management of IoT Systems

The amount of available connectible devices and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions is increasing as such equipments are becoming popular and widely available on the market. This growth in popularity goes together with a keen interest for smart homes where individuals deploy ad hoc solutions in their houses. However, the task to translate the users’ needs into a concrete IoT infrastructure is not straightforward and often require to deal with proprietary APIs, complex interconnection protocols, and various technical details, so that the link to user requirements may be lost, hampering the validity of their interaction properties. In order to define and manipulate devices deployed in domestic environments, we propose IoTDSL, a Domain-Specific Language relying on a high-level rule-based language. Users in charge of the deployment of IoT infrastructures are able to describe and combine in a declarative manner structural configurations as well as event-based semantics for devices. Modellers are then freed from technical aspects, playing with high-level representations of devices. The events orchestration is transferred to a dedicated component where high-level rules are automatically translated into a Complex Event Processing (Cep) facility meant to evaluate and trigger runtime events. Additionally, simulation code can be generated to play with user-defined configurations.

Formal Analysis of Object-Oriented Mograms

A mogram designates a software language implemented in either a programming or a modelling language. Object-Oriented mograms share many common language features, but also have specificities related to inheritance, collection values, opposite and contained references, or overloading. We propose a mathematical framework that captures the semantics of such mograms with a precise characterisation of the variation points. We implemented a prototype tool that enables formal analysis in a uniform way.