Robert Pergl

Four simple recommendations to encourage best practices in research software

Scientific research relies on computer software, yet software is not always developed following practices that ensure its quality and sustainability. This manuscript does not aim to propose new software development best practices, but rather to provide simple recommendations that encourage the adoption of existing best practices. Software development best practices promote better quality software, and better quality software improves the reproducibility and reusability of research. These recommendations are designed around Open Source values, and provide practical suggestions that contribute to making research software and its source code more discoverable, reusable and transparent. This manuscript is aimed at developers, but also at organisations, projects, journals and funders that can increase the quality and sustainability of research software by encouraging the adoption of these recommendations.

Towards OntoUML for Software Engineering: From Domain Ontology to Implementation Model

OntoUML is a promising method for ontological modelling. In this paper, we discuss its possible use for software engineering. We propose a method of transformation of an ontological model into a software-engineering object-oriented class model in UML and its instantiation. Our approach is based on the following best practices: pure object-oriented paradigm and approach of dividing state and identity as introduced in the Clojure programming language.

Towards OntoUML for Software Engineering: Introduction to The Transformation of OntoUML into Relational Databases

OntoUML is an ontologically well-founded conceptual modelling language that distinguishes various types of classifiers and relations providing precise meaning to the modelled entities. Efforts arise to incorporate OntoUML into the Model-Driven Development approach as the conceptual modelling language for the platform independent model of application data. This paper discusses the transformation of an OntoUML platform independent model into an implementation specific model of a relational database schema, while preserving the semantics of the OntoUML universal types.

The OpenPonk modeling platform

In this paper we present OpenPonk: a free, open-source, simple to use platform for developing tools for conceptual modeling: diagramming, DSLs, and algorithms operating on the models and diagrams, such as automatic layouting, model transformations, validations, etc. This project differentiates itself from the current efforts by providing completely free and open-source live development environment, which is simple to learn, use, and extend. There are already several plugins and extensions that bring several notations and algorithms, some of which are presented in this paper, alongside the overview of the core of the platform, and how they integrate with each other. We also present a comprehensive project case study utilizing OpenPonk.

Enterprise Operational Analysis Using DEMO and the Enterprise Operating System

Monitoring and analyzing the operation of enterprises is a key capability of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) solutions and is relevant for high-risk organizations, such as financial services. The potential of state-of-the-art process mining (data-driven process analysis) is limited by quality issues with transactional data registration and extraction. A novel approach is proposed to address these challenges: the Enterprise Operational Analysis (EOA) founded in DEMO and the Enterprise Operating System (EOS). The EOS is a software system based on enterprise engineering, and stores, interprets, and executes DEMO models as native source code. The EOS provides workflow-like capabilities and supports EOA. Combining the EOS with state-of-the-art process mining offers the following advantages: guaranteed completeness of analysis, elimination of ‘mining’ for events, facilitating process conformance checking, analysis on various levels of granularity from various perspectives. It enables enterprises to systematically analyze, improve and deploy business procedures. A professional business case is analyzed.

Towards OntoUML for Software Engineering: Transformation of Anti-rigid Sortal Types into Relational Databases

OntoUML is an ontologically well-founded conceptual modelling language that distinguishes various types of classifiers and relations providing precise meaning to the modelled entities. Efforts arise to incorporate OntoUML into the Model-Driven Development approach as a conceptual modelling language for the PIM of application data. In a prequel paper, we have introduced and outlined our approach for a transformation of OntoUML PIM into a PSM of a relational database. In this paper, we discuss the details of various variants of the transformation of Rigid Sortal types of OntoUML.

Towards OntoUML for software engineering: Transformation of rigid sortal types into relational databases

OntoUML is an ontologically well-founded conceptual modelling language that distinguishes various types of classifiers and relations providing precise meaning to the modelled entities. Efforts arise to incorporate OntoUML into the Model-Driven Development approach as a conceptual modelling language for the PIM of application data. In a prequel paper, we have introduced and outlined our approach for a transformation of OntoUML PIM into a PSM of a relational database. In this paper, we discuss the details of various variants of the transformation of Rigid Sortal types of OntoUML.

Towards the Ontological Foundations for the Software Executable DEMO Action and Fact Models

The discipline of enterprise engineering and the DEMO methodology enable a model-driven approach to enterprise software systems development.

Tackling the Flexibility-Usability Trade-off in Component-Based Software Development

“Increase flexibility, decrease usability” is a known trade-off influencing the effectiveness of reusing artefacts in many engineering disciplines. We claim that software development is influenced, too. The goal of this paper is to elaborate on flexibility and usability in component-based software development. It explains that equally flexible components can considerably differ in usability costs. Therefore, the architecture of components matters to evaluate final cost on building software. We propose a model of building components that can help to decrease costs on software development, while providing a demanded level of flexibility.

Revisiting the BORM OR Diagram Composition Pattern

This paper addresses the notion of process decomposition as a tool for managing process complexity in BORM Object Relation Diagram. It investigates the composition principle already present in ORD and shows it as ambiguous and mostly unsuitable for that purpose. Substantial changes to the original meta-model of ORD are proposed by introducing a new concept called tasks. The implications of introducing this new concept are then investigated, especially concerning decomposition of communications in a BORM process.