Weaving Aspect-Orientation into Web Modeling Languages

This short paper aims at demonstrating the integration of workflow specifications with conceptual models for Web application design. In particular, we propose a visual editor of business process diagrams (according to the BPMN notation), which seamlessly integrates into the commercial CASE tool called WebRatio, which allows the designer to model data-intensive and service-intensive Web applications based on WebML (Web Modeling Language) models. A set of model transformations from BPMN workflow diagrams to WebML hypertext diagrams allows fast generation of site skeletons implementing the specified business process. Such skeletons can be modified by the designer that is relieved from the time-consuming and error-prone task of specifying all the details of the workflow constraints.

Welcome to this installment of ACM SIGMOD Record's series of interviews with distinguished members of the database community. I'm Marianne Winslett, and today we are at the L3S Research Institute in Hannover, Germany, where I am spending the fall of 2006. I have here with me Stefano Ceri, who is a Professor of Information Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. Stefano's research interests include distributed, deductive, active, and object-oriented databases, and XML query languages; his recent work is on the design of Web applications. He is a co-inventor of WebML (Web Modeling Language), and has a startup company that is commercializing WebRatio, a product based on WebML. Stefano was a founder of EDBT and is still a member of the EDBT Endowment, and he has been a member of the VLDB Endowment for twelve years. He was an editor of ACM Transactions on Database Systems and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering . He is a coauthor of 9 books, and his PhD is from the Politecnico di Milano. So, Stefano, welcome!

Large-scale Model-Driven Engineering of web user interaction: The WebML and WebRatio experience

The goal of disseminating and manipulating spatial knowledge over the Internet, has led to the development of Web applications, known as Web Geographic Information Systems (Web GIS). Web GIS can be considered as a particular class of data-intensive Web applications, since they are mainly devoted to handle (spatial) information to and from the user. The success of WebML (Web Modeling Language) for designing traditional data-intensive web applications suggested use to extend this visual formalism to model relevant interaction and navigation operations typical of Web GIS. In the paper, we describe the proposed extension and provide an example of its application.

General-purpose modeling languages are inadequate to model and visualize business processes precisely. An enterprise has its own vocabulary for modeling processes and its specific tasks may have attached data that define the tasks precisely. We propose using Domain Specific Modeling (DSM) languages to model business processes, such that an enterprise can define its own DSM language(s) capturing its vocabulary and data requirement. We suggest using UML profiles and UML activity diagrams as the semantic base for these DSM languages and present tools that are able to create a DSM language and tool support for a given domain. One tool, called ADSpecializer, can generate a UML profile and its tool support of a given application domain. The other tool, ADModeler, is used to create UML activity diagrams within such a domain-specific UML profile. The two tools enable an enterprise to efficiently define and utilize their own DSM language.

Cybersecurity is a comparatively new discipline, related to computer science, electrical engineering, and similar subjects. As a newer discipline it lacks some of the tools found in more established subject areas. As one example, many engineering disciplines have modeling languages specific for that engineering discipline. As two examples, software engineering utilizes Unified Modeling Language (UML) and systems engineering uses System Modeling Language (SysML). Cybersecurity engineering lacks such a generalized modeling language. Cybersecurity as a profession would be enhanced with a security specific modeling language. This paper describes such a modeling language. The model is described in sufficient detail to be actionable and applicable. However, suggestions for future work are also provided.

Compared to General Purpose Modeling Languages (GPMLs), Domain Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs) have brought increasing expressivity and conciseness through the use of concepts and notations, which are customized by the characteristics of a specific problem domain. However, the creation of completely new languages can significantly increase software development costs. An alternative approach to creating new DSMLs refers to a customization of existing modeling languages. The DSML creation process through a customization of existing languages is a special case of Language Embedding. The embedding provides customization of an inherited infrastructure to a given domain. This paper elaborates a Domain-Specific Modeling environment for embedding an arbitrary DSML into an arbitrary GPML. The environment enables uniform development of DSMLs in the form of a lightweight extension of existing modeling languages.

The mathematical foundations of physical systems modeling languages

Educational games are serious games that specifically used for education yet it is fun to play. There are numbers of domain specific modeling languages for educational games focus in various aspect and theories of learning. By having domain specific modeling language which applies a visual diagramming language, it helps in represent design ideas and logic. This paper analyzes existing modelling languages to assess the coverage of strategy genre and transfer learning concepts. The results show that existing modelling languages covers important strategy genre concepts but cover very little of the transfer learning concepts. The authors conclude that the existing modelling languages can be used to model small strategy games but will have trouble to scale to large strategy games, and will not be able to model games that guarantee students learning.

ADELFE is a French acronym that means “Toolkit for Designing Software with Emergent Functionalities” (“Atelier de DEveloppement de Logiciels à Fonctionnalité Emergente” in French). ADELFE methodology is dedicated to applications characterized by openness and the need of the system adaptation to an environment. Its main goal is to help and guide any designer during the development of an Adaptive Multi-agent System (AMAS). An AMAS is characterized by the following points: it is plunged into an environment and composed of interdependent agents, each agent carries out a partial function and the agents, organization during runtime makes the system realize an emergent function. Actually, an agent is locally cooperative, i.e. it is able to recognize cooperation failures called Non-cooperative Situations (NCS, which could be related to exceptions in classical programs) and treat them.ADELFE includes five Work Definitions that were initially inspired from the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and gathers 21 activities, producing or refining 12 work products. These products are aggregating modelling diagrams or structured or free text. ADELFE, which is a Model-Driven (model-centred) development method, is not hardly dependent on Domain Specific Modelling Languages (DSML) but currently the recommendation is to use UML2 for general activities and to use AMASML (AMAS Modelling Language) and SpeADL (Species-based Modelling Language) for specific activities appearing in Analysis, Design or Implementation phases.KeywordsAdaptive Multi-agent Systems (AMAS)Domain-specific Modeling Languages (DSML)AMAS ApproachAMAS TheoryManagement Studies ConferenceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

A validation process for integrated model-based methodology for component-based embedded real-time software with a profile is presented in this paper. Unified Modeling Language for Modeling and Analysis Real-Time and Embedded System, as a newly developed profile has been introduced to overcome problems in previous profiles. Nevertheless, a sound and systematic methodology is needed in order to tackle complexity problems that arose. The objective of this paper is to validate the integrated profile and a selected component-based methodology component model for satisfying embedded real-time software requirements, thus helping engineers to model their system, enhancing the structure and component modeling. For that, this paper described a component model meta-model validation process using quality matching for the integration process, involving a profile and a methodology. Nevertheless, this paper focused more towards the validation of the integrated component model before can be implemented on Embedded Real-Time software development, whereby the proposed integration component model is applied on a case study to show its enhancements. The integration result will support to solve complexity whereby the profile is used to solve the lack of specific modeling language notation for embedded real-time system and the method can provide a systematical software process.

Enterprises are inherently complex systems, which involve a multitude of components working dynamically and in coordination to obtain a desired end goal. The intricacy of an enterprise and how the different components can be modeled is the area of research of Enterprise Modeling (EM). When holistically modeling an enterprise, it is required to use more than one modeling language, including general and domain specific modeling languages (DSML), to boost the comprehension of different enterprise areas. However, the use of multiple languages can lead to a lack of detail and understanding of the relationships between enterprise components that are modeled in different domains. Analyzing the relationships between various enterprise domains can generate valuable insight into understanding the uncertainty, complexity, and operations of an enterprise. In this paper, we present an approach to enable EM from multiple perspectives allowing enterprises to use different languages to describe various domains. This approach supports the creation of relationships and dependencies between domains, to analyze from different depths and viewpoints desired enterprise perspectives. Considering the needed requirements for multi-perspective modeling, we developed a workbench that allows the composition and merger of different EM languages and creates ad-hoc EM tools based on the necessities of the enterprise.KeywordsEnterprise ModelingLanguage workbenchDomain specific modeling languages

Formal modelling languages are powerful tools to systematically represent and analyze the properties of systems. A myriad of new modelling languages, as well as extensions of existing ones, are proposed every year. We may consider that a modelling language is useful if it allows to represent the critical aspects of systems in an expressive way. In particular, we require that the modelling language allows to accurately discriminate between correct and incorrect behaviors concerning critical aspects of the model. In this paper we present a method to assess the suitability of a modelling language to define systems belonging to a specific domain. Basically, given a system, we consider alternative correct/incorrect systems and we study whether the representations provided by the studied modelling language keep the distinction between correct and incorrect as each alternative system does.

The current research intention’ is to present some methodological approaches regarding the possibilities of computerizing the field of financial analysis. Therefore, at first, the characteristics, necessity and objectives of the financial analysis are clearly presented. Secondly, the classical models of application development are compared within a table, pointing out the advantaged versus the disadvantages of each model. Also, the agile models are included for the purpose of deciding which model is the best suited for the analyzed filed. Thirdly, the specific languages for enterprise modelling, namely UML language and ontology are presented and specific ideas are formulated. The article states, at the end, which methodology, model and modelling language is the best suited for computerizing the field of financial analysis and also presents a conceptual computer modelling for financial analysis.

Reuse and component design have extensively been applied to software engineering, but reuse and formal design methods in WWW-based system is still in its infancy. Most WWW developers currently design WWW content for the most efficient delivery and do not focus on these factors. This is because, at present, any extra code added to WWW components is often seen as non-essential. This resistance will be overcome over the next few years as the way that uses view content, and the way that they connect to the WWW changes. It is thus more likely that WWW pages will become more refined, and require much shorter design cycles than they typical have now. The key to this will thus be reuse, and in new application models which improved they way that content can be viewed, and reused. With the acceptance of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) as a standard modelling language, there will be an increase in the usage of formal modelling languages, which integrate the WWW with the application domain. A good example of this is EML (Education Modelling Language), which tries to model the education process in a formal way, which can be easily interpreted within a WWW browser.