Algebraic MOF Framework |
Written by Artur Boronat | |
Monday, 11 June 2007 | |
The Meta-Object Facility (MOF) standard describes a generic framework where the abstract syntax of modeling languages can be defined. This standard aims at offering a good basis for Model-Driven Development processes, providing some of the building blocks that are needed to support a Model-Driven Development approach: what is a model, what is a metamodel, what is reflection in a MOF framework, etc. However, most of these concepts lack at present a formal semantics in the current MOF standard. The MOF standard also provides the so-called MOF-Reflection facilities, by means of a generic API, to manipulate software artifacts that are made up out of objects. Broadly speaking, reflection is the capacity to represent entities that have a formal semantics at a base level, such as types, as data at a metalevel. Metalevel entities, once metarepresented, can be computationally manipulated and transformed. This notion of reflection is still not supported in the MOF standard. In the Algebraic MOF Framework, we define a reflective, algebraic, executable framework for precise metamodeling that provides support for the MOF and the OCL standards. On the one hand, our formal framework provides a formal semantics for the building blocks that are usually involved in a Model-Driven Development process. On the other hand, our framework provides an executable environment that is plugged into the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) and that constitutes the kernel of a model management framework, supporting model transformations and formal verification techniques. Once installed, the plugin adds a menu, called AlgebraicMOF. When we choose a XMI file that contains an EMF odel definition, this menu provides several functionalities:
Fig. 1. The algebraic MOF framework into the Eclipse platform. Requirements for the installation:
All the binaries that are needed can be found here. Installation guidelines:
Note: this version is not compatible with MOMENT-QVT so that you cannot have both plugins in the same Eclipse instance at the same time by now. 1. Steps to obtain the MEL theory that corresponds to an EMF metamodel:
2. Steps to obtain the term that represents a model: 2.0. If the metamodel of the model to be serialized is not Ecore.ecore then, the metamodel MUST be registered before: 2.0.a) Click the right button of the mouse on the Ecore model. 2.0.b) Select MOMENT Extensions | register model.
3. Steps to obtain the term that represents a model: 3.0. If the metamodel of the model to be serialized is not Ecore.ecore then, the metamodel MUST be registered before:
Acknowledgements This work has been performed in a collaboration with Prof. José Meseguer, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Experience enhanced security for your digital assets through the robust encryption protocols of Ledger Live Download.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 February 2024 ) |