Towards Semantical DSMLs for Complex or Cyber-physical Systems

MDE is nowadays applied in the context of software engineering for complex or cyber-physical systems, to build models of physical systems that can then be verified and simulated before they are built and deployed. This article focuses on DSMLs direct formal verification and simulation of their dynamic semantics. By “direct”, we mean without transforming the DSML description into an automata-like one. This paper presents xviCore, a metamdeling language to create DSMLs equipped with an abstract syntax, a concrete syntax and a dynamic semantics. We exemplify xviCore by an integration of a metamodeling language and a formal behavioral modeling language, based on the blackboard design pattern. Formal verification techniques based on the Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) and the Temporal Boolean Difference can be then applied as demonstrated by the proposed approach.

[1]  Vincent Chapurlat,et al.  Formal Representation and Proof of the Interpreted Sequential Machine Model , 1997, EUROCAST.

[2]  Vincent Chapurlat.  UPSL-SE: A model verification framework for Systems Engineering , 2013, Comput. Ind..

[3]  Bruce Powel Douglass.  Real-Time UML , 2002, FTRTFT.

[4]  Niraj K. Jha,et al.  Switching and Finite Automata Theory , 2010 .

[5]  A. G. Kleppe,et al.  A Language Description is More than a Metamodel , 2007 .

[6]  Kristin Yvonne Rozier,et al.  Linear Temporal Logic Symbolic Model Checking , 2011, Comput. Sci. Rev..

[7]  Richard F. Paige,et al.  An action semantics for MOF 2.0 , 2006, SAC '06.

[8]  Guido Wachsmuth,et al.  Using Grammarware Languages to Define Operational Semantics of Modelled Languages , 2009, TOOLS.

[9]  Markus Scheidgen,et al.  Human Comprehensible and Machine Processable Specifications of Operational Semantics , 2007, ECMDA-FA.

[10]  Wang Yi,et al.  Uppaal in a nutshell , 1997, International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer.

[11]  D. Corkill.  Blackboard Systems , 1991 .

[12]  François Pfister,et al.  A Verification Approach from MDE Applied to Model Based Systems Engineering: xeFFBD Dynamic Semantics , 2014, CSDM.

[13]  Robert Englemore,et al.  Blackboard Systems; Edited by Robert Engelmore, Tony Morgan (the Insight Series in Artificial Intell , 1988 .

[14]  Janine Magnier,et al.  The temporal Boolean derivative applied to verification of extended finite state machines , 1995 .

[15]  Philippe Lalanda,et al.  Two complementary patterns to build multi-expert systems , 1997 .

[16]  Jean Bézivin,et al.  On the unification power of models , 2005, Software & Systems Modeling.

[17]  Tony Clark,et al.  An eXecutable metamodelling facility for domain specific language design. , 2004 .

[18]  Frank Budinsky,et al.  Eclipse Modeling Framework , 2003 .

[19]  Gerti Kappel,et al.  xMOF: Executable DSMLs Based on fUML , 2013, SLE.

[20]  Edward A. Lee,et al.  Overview of the Ptolemy project , 2001 .

[21]  David Harel,et al.  Statecharts: A Visual Formalism for Complex Systems , 1987, Sci. Comput. Program..

[22]  Tony Clark,et al.  Superlanguages: developing languages and applications with XMF. , 2008 .

[23]  David Harel,et al.  Modeling Reactive Systems With Statecharts : The Statemate Approach , 1998 .

[24]  Stephan Merz,et al.  Model checking UML state machines and collaborations , 2001, Workshop on Software Model Checking @ CAV.

[25]  Benoît Combemale,et al.  Essay on Semantics Definition in MDE - An Instrumented Approach for Model Verification , 2009, J. Softw..