Modeling ServicesModel Interoperability

Xavier Blanc – University Paris VI

Objective

• Applying the MDA requires the use of different modeling services in a coordinated way. Those services are typically model publishing, model storage, model validation and verification, model transformation and model execution (This is a non exhaustive list).

• Today, many tools, commercial or not, are claiming that they provide such services. However, because this notion of modeling service is not well defined, it is not possible to use them in a coordinated way.

Context : MDA Scenario

UML Repository

OCL Checker

Q/V/T Engine

check

get

transform

get

Problem Statement

To connect services:

• Model types shall be well defined– What is model typing (conformance)?

• Access shall be defined– Is there Web Service or Java accesses?– Encoding : Is XMI is the only one possibility?

Model Typing

• Ex: accepted models are classes and packages

NewClass NewUseCase

NewClass NewUseCase

If a model contains more model elements than required=> Accept it!

Model Typing

Model ModelTypeconformance

conformance

• What is a model? •Extent (MOF2.0 Life Cycle)

• What is a meta-model?• What is a model type ?

• Is a meta-model a model type ?• What is conformance?

Access

check

Web Service Access+ XMI

Java Access+ JMI

• How to exchange models? •XMI, Java, CORBA

• What is the call semantic?•Error, Exception, Reference

• How to call services?•PIM – PSM Transfo?

ScopeIs• To define what is a modeling service

– A service that inputs and outputs models– Example : IDL Generation, DTD Generation, QVT Transformation

• To define what is a connection of modeling services– Static or dynamic check

• To define how modeling services can be concretely called– Based on existing technologies (J2EE, CORBA, WS, …)

Is Not:• To define how to connect MDA related tools

– By defining a specific APIs• To define semantic relationships between metamodels

– By definig scenario

Existing OMG Specifications

• MOF : should be used as a base for model typing.

• MOF to IDL mapping : should be considered as a modeling service and may be used as a concrete access

• MOF Life Cycle : should be considered as a set of modeling services

• XMI : should be used as a way of encoding models

• …

Requirement

• Modeling Service Definition• Modeling Service Connectivity Definition• Modeling Service Call Semantic Definition• Access Point Mecanism

• Event• Sharing Models• Local vs Remote

Conclusion

• Need of Modeling Service

• It seems that OMG standards cover some (all?) aspects of modeling service

• Need to identify how well this is being addressed in the current OMG specification

Questions & Answers

Xavier.Blanc@lip6.fr