Detecting model inconsistency through operation-based model construction

Nowadays, large-scale industrial software systems may involve hundreds of developers working on hundreds of different but related models representing parts of the same system specification. Detecting and resolving structural inconsistencies between these models is then critical. In this article we propose to represent models by sequences of elementary construction operations, rather than by the set of model elements they contain. Structural and methodological consistency rules can then be expressed uniformly as logical constraints on such sequences. Our approach is meta-model independent, allowing us to deal with consistency between different models whatever their kind. We have validated our approach by building a Prolog engine that detects violations of structural and methodological constraints specified on UML 2.1 models and requirement models. This engine has been integrated into two contemporary UML-based modelling environments, Eclipse EMF and rational software architect (RSA).

[1]  共立出版株式会社.  コンピュータ・サイエンス : ACM computing surveys , 1978 .

[2]  A. Nico Habermann,et al.  Software Development Environments , 1987, Computer.

[3]  Robert Balzer,et al.  Tolerating Inconsistency , 1991, [1989] Proceedings of the 5th International Software Process Workshop.

[4]  Ernst Lippe,et al.  Operation-based merging , 1992, SDE 5.

[5]  D. Gabbay,et al.  Inconsistency Handling in Multiperspective Specifications , 1994 .

[6]  George Spanoudakis,et al.  Managing interference , 1996, ISAW '96.

[7]  Andrea Zisman,et al.  Inconsistency Management in Software Engineering: Survey and Open Research Issues , 2000 .

[8]  Licia Capra,et al.  xlinkit: a consistency checking and smart link generation service , 2002, TOIT.

[9]  Bran Selic,et al.  The Pragmatics of Model-Driven Development , 2003, IEEE Softw..

[10]  Tom Mens,et al.  Using Description Logic to Maintain Consistency between UML Models , 2003, UML.

[11]  Maged Elaasar,et al.  An Overview of UML Consistency Management , 2004 .

[12]  Yasushi Saito,et al.  Optimistic replication , 2005, CSUR.

[13]  Ragnhild Van Der Straeten,et al.  Detecting and resolving model inconsistencies using transformation dependency analysis , 2006, MoDELS'06.

[14]  Alexander Egyed,et al.  Instant consistency checking for the UML , 2006, ICSE.

[15]  Alexander Egyed,et al.  Fixing Inconsistencies in UML Design Models , 2007, 29th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE'07).