Weaving Models with the Eclipse AMW plugin

The basic assumption in model engineering (MDE) is to consider models as first class entities. One of the most important kinds of models in MDE approaches are transformation models. Transformation models define operations between different models. However, there are many operations that are not efficiently handled by generic model transformations. For example, models transformations are not adapted to define and to capture relationships between models elements. Relationships between model elements are present in many different application scenarios, such as specification of transformations, traceability, or model alignment. We propose the use of weaving models to capture relationships between model elements. Weaving models can be used in different application scenarios, because they conform to different extensions of a core weaving metamodel. In this paper, we explain in detail what a model weaving is. We present a set of application scenarios, and we extract a set of basic requirements for creating relationships between model elements. Based on that, we define a core weaving metamodel, metamodel extensions, and describe a set of methods to create weaving models. We implement an Eclipse plugin named AMW (ATLAS Model Weaver) to support the creation of these weaving metamodels and models.