XWeave: models and aspects in concert

Model-driven software development improves the way software is developed by capturing key features of the system in models which are developed and refined as the system is created. During the system's lifecycle models are combined and transformed between different levels of abstraction and viewpoints. Aspect-oriented techniques improve software development by providing modularization constructs for the encapsulation of crosscutting concerns. Existing research has already investigated many ways of combining the two paradigms. This paper contributes by presenting XWeave, a model weaver that supports weaving of both models and meta models. XWeave supports the composition of different architectural viewpoints and eases model evolution. Furthermore, the tool plays an important role in software product line engineering, as variable parts of architectural models can be woven according to some product configuration. The concepts are illustrated with an example of a home automation system.