Software:UML-RSDS

From HandWiki

UML-RSDS is a lightweight Model-driven engineering (MDE) and Model transformation tool supporting the UML 2.5 class diagram notation and OCL 2.4 Object Constraint Language. It supports code-generation in multiple 3GLs: Java, C#, C++, Python, Go, Swift and ANSI C.

The toolset has been defined as an Eclipse project AgileUML under the modeling category[1].

The toolset repository is hosted on GitHub.

The toolset originated from EPSRC-funded research at Imperial College and King's College London in the period 1996–2014. It was publicly released in 2010 and defined as an Eclipse project in 2019. It is now supported by AgileMDE Ltd: agilemde.co.uk.

One motivation of the tools has been to provide a means for general software practitioners to use MDE in a flexible manner, to support agile development using MDE. The tool has been applied to financial software development[2] and to many different kinds of transformation problems, for example[3][4].

Language characteristics

The main specification notations in UML-RSDS are UML class diagrams and use cases, together with Object Constraint Language (OCL) expressions, used to define invariants and operation pre and post-conditions. Either a graphical or textual notation can be used for UML-RSDS specifications.

For example, a simple class specification could be written as:

class Person { 

 attribute age: int;
 attribute name: String;

 operation birthday() 
 pre: true 
 post: age = age@pre + 1;

}

Transformations are defined as use cases together with constraints expressing how result data is derived from input data. Thus a declarative specification style similar to the QVT relations language is supported, but without the need to define additional syntax or language elements - only OCL is used. For example, to copy every person instance to a 'PersonRecord' with a 'data' attribute formed from the name and age, it is sufficient to write:

usecase copyPersons { 

 Person::
   PersonRecord->exists( r | r.data = name + age )

}

For more general software applications, procedural-style code using statements such as assignment (:=), loops (while, for), conditionals (if then else) and sequencing (;) can be used to define operation and usecase behaviour. These statements correspond to a text version of UML activity models.

The version of OCL used is an extension of OCL version 2.4, with additional data types Map and Function, together with extended sets of operators for strings (such as regular expressions) and collections. One motivation for these extensions was to provide an adequate representation for the semantics of reverse-engineered programs from languages such as Java or COBOL. In turn, the representations in UML/OCL can then be translated to other languages such as Swift or Python.

Application and evaluation

UML-RSDS has been the subject of a number of independent reviews and comparative evaluations by the model-transformation research community, such as the following secondary reliable sources authored by researchers independent of the UML-RSDS development team:[5][6][7][8][9]

It has been used in education and research by a number of universities, in particular, King's College London (UK), the University of Isfahan (Iran), Texas A and M International University (USA), TU Darmstadt (Germany), Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University (Iran) and University of Waterloo (Canada).

Functionalities

The main functionalities of UML-RSDS are:

  • Creation and editing of UML Version 2 class diagrams, supporting classes with attributes, associations, inheritance and operations
  • Specification of functionality using OCL 2.4 definitions of operations and use cases
  • Type-analysis and quality analysis of specifications
  • Code generation in multiple target languages: Java (3 versions), C#, C++, ANSI C, Python, Go, and Swift
  • Code generation of Android and IOS apps (using SwiftUI)

Additional features include:

  • Reverse-engineering from Java, JavaScript, VB6, COBOL 85 and C code
  • Formalisation of textual requirements
  • Support for QVT and other model transformations
  • Machine learning of model transformations from examples
  • Machine learning of code generators from examples

References

  1. ↑ https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/modeling.agileuml
  2. ↑ Alfraihi, Hessa (2018). "The Impact of Integrating Agile Software Development and Model-Driven Development: A Comparative Case Study". https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-01042-3_14. 
  3. ↑ Jakumeit, Edgar; Buchwald, Sebastian; Wagelaar, Dennis; Dan, Li; Hegedüs, Ábel; Herrmannsdörfer, Markus; Horn, Tassilo; Kalnina, Elina et al. (June 1, 2014). "A survey and comparison of transformation tools based on the transformation tool contest". Science of Computer Programming 85: 41–99. doi:10.1016/j.scico.2013.10.009. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167642313002803. 
  4. ↑ Rose, Louis M.; Herrmannsdoerfer, Markus; Mazanek, Steffen; Van Gorp, Pieter; Buchwald, Sebastian; Horn, Tassilo; Kalnina, Elina; Koch, Andreas et al. (February 1, 2014). "Graph and model transformation tools for model migration". Software & Systems Modeling 13 (1): 323–359. doi:10.1007/s10270-012-0245-0. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-012-0245-0. 
  5. ↑ Calegari, Daniel; Szasz, Nora (March 5, 2013). "Verification of Model Transformations: A Survey of the State-of-the-Art". Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science 292: 5–25. doi:10.1016/j.entcs.2013.02.002. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571066113000042. 
  6. ↑ Kahani, Nafiseh; Bagherzadeh, Mojtaba; Cordy, James R.; Dingel, Juergen; Varró, Daniel (August 1, 2019). "Survey and classification of model transformation tools". Software & Systems Modeling 18 (4): 2361–2397. doi:10.1007/s10270-018-0665-6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-018-0665-6. 
  7. ↑ Ab. Rahim, Lukman; Whittle, Jon (May 1, 2015). "A survey of approaches for verifying model transformations". Software & Systems Modeling 14 (2): 1003–1028. doi:10.1007/s10270-013-0358-0. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-013-0358-0. 
  8. ↑ Jakumeit, Edgar; Buchwald, Sebastian; Wagelaar, Dennis; Dan, Li; Hegedüs, Ábel; Herrmannsdörfer, Markus; Horn, Tassilo; Kalnina, Elina et al. (June 1, 2014). "A survey and comparison of transformation tools based on the transformation tool contest". Science of Computer Programming 85: 41–99. doi:10.1016/j.scico.2013.10.009. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167642313002803. 
  9. ↑ Rose, Louis M.; Herrmannsdoerfer, Markus; Mazanek, Steffen; Van Gorp, Pieter; Buchwald, Sebastian; Horn, Tassilo; Kalnina, Elina; Koch, Andreas et al. (February 1, 2014). "Graph and model transformation tools for model migration". Software & Systems Modeling 13 (1): 323–359. doi:10.1007/s10270-012-0245-0. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-012-0245-0. 

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