Compiling and Validating OCL Constraints in Metamodeling Environments and Visual Model Compilers

L. Lengyel, T. Levendovszky, P. Kozma, and H. Charaf (Hungary)

Keywords

Constraint checking, OCL, metamodel-based model transformation, MDA model compiler, PIM, PSM, UML

Abstract

Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) standardized by OMG facilitates to separate the platform independent part and the platform specific part of a system model. Due to this separation PIM can be reused across several implementation platforms of the software. PSM is ideally generated automatically from PIM via model transformation steps performed by model compilers. Because of the appearance of high level languages object oriented technologies and wide spreading of CASE tools. metamodeling has become more and more important. Metamodeling is one of the most central techniques in the design of visual languages, and it reuses existing domains by extending the metamodel level. In this paper the creation of model compliers on a metamodeling basis is illustrated by a software package called Visual Modeling and Transformation System (VMTS) [1] [2], which is an n-layer multipurpose modeling and metamodel-based transformation system. This paper has two main subjects: (i) checking constraints contained by metamodels during the metamodel instantiation, and (ii) checking rewriting rules containing constraints during the graph transformation process. Besides these the paper addresses the relation between constraints and pre- and postconditions. These constraints are specified on the meta-layer and impose restrictions on the models residing on the instance layer of the rules. An illustrative case study for constraint validation in rewriting rules is also provided.

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