Automatic model transformations using extended UML object diagramsin modeling environments

摘要

One of the most important features of modeling tools is generationnof output. The output may be documentation, source code, net list, ornany other presentation of the system being constructed. The process ofnoutput generation may be considered as automatic creation of a targetnmodel from a model in the source modeling domain. This translation doesnnot need to be accomplished in a single step. Instead, a tool mayngenerate multiple intermediate models as other views to the system.nThese models may be used either as better descriptions of the system, ornas a descent down the abstraction levels of the user-defined model,ngradually leading to the desired implementation. If the modeling domainsnhave their metamodels defined in terms of object-oriented concepts, thenmodels consist of instances of the abstractions from the metamodels andnlinks between them. A new technique for specifying the mapping betweenndifferent modeling domains is proposed in the paper. It uses UML objectndiagrams that show the instances and links of the target model thatnshould be created during automatic translations. The diagrams arenextended with the proposed concepts of conditional, repetitive,nparameterized, and polymorphic model creation, implemented by thenstandard UML extensibility mechanisms. Several examples from differentnengineering domains are provided, illustrating the applicability andnbenefits of the approach. The first experimental results show that thenspecifications may lead to better reuse and shorter production time whenndeveloping customized output generators