Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Software and Systems Modeling
Published in: Software and Systems Modeling 4/2014

01-10-2014 | Regular Paper

Colouring: execution, debug and analysis of QVT-relations transformations through coloured Petri nets

Authors: Esther Guerra, Juan de Lara

Published in: Software and Systems Modeling | Issue 4/2014

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

QVT is the standard language sponsored by the OMG to specify model-to-model transformations. It includes three different languages, being QVT-relations (QVT-R) the one with higher-level of abstraction. Unfortunately, there is scarce tool support for it nowadays, with incompatibilities and disagreements between the few tools implementing it, and lacking support for the analysis and verification of transformations. Part of this situation is due to the fact that the standard provides only a semi-formal semantics for QVT-R. In order to alleviate this situation, this paper provides a semantics for QVT-R through its compilation into coloured Petri nets. The theory of coloured Petri nets provides useful techniques to analyse transformations (e.g. detecting relation conflicts, or checking whether certain structures are generated or not in the target model) as well as to determine their confluence and termination given a starting model. Our semantics is flexible enough to permit the use of QVT-R specifications not only for transformation and check-only scenarios, but also for model matching and model comparison, not covered in the original standard. As a proof of concept, we report on the use of CPNTools for the execution, debugging, verification and validation of transformations, and on a tool chain (named Colouring) to transform QVT-R specifications and their input models into the input format of CPNTools, as well as to export and visualize the transformation results back as models.
previous article An architecture framework for enterprise IT service availability analysis
next article Effects of stability on model composition effort: an exploratory study

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
For simplicity, by now we intentionally avoid using class inheritance in the meta-models. We will show how our method handles inheritance in Sect. 4.6.
 
2
CPNTools depicts enabled transitions by highlighting them in green colour.
 
3
The purpose of this somewhat artificial example is to show the effect of the CBE semantics in Sects. 4.5 and 7.
 
4
A2 stores objects of type A, but we use a different name because CPNTools does not allow duplicated place names in the same page.
 
5
Currently, our generator does not consider CBE semantics or optimizations of places. This is left as future work.
 
6
Modelink is part of the GMT Epsilon project, available at http://​www.​eclipse.​org/​epsilon/​doc/​modelink/​.
 
7
MediniQVT does not prevent these queries and may produce target models that together with the source one would not pass the check-only scenario.
 
Literature
1.
Barkaoui, K., Dutheillet, C., Haddad, S.: An efficient algorithm for finding structural deadlocks in colored Petri nets. In: APN’93, pp. 69–88 (1993)
2.
3.
Boronat, A., Carsí, J.A., Ramos, I.: Algebraic specification of a model transformation engine. In: FASE’06. LNCS, vol. 3922, pp. 262–277. Springer, Berlin (2006)
4.
Boronat, A., Heckel, R., Meseguer, J.: Rewriting logic semantics and verification of model transformations. In: FASE’09. LNCS, vol. 5503, pp. 18–33. Springer, Berlin (2009)
5.
Cabot, J., Clarisó, R., Guerra, E., de Lara, J.: Verification and validation of declarative model-to-model transformations through invariants. J. Syst. Softw. 83(2), 283–302 (2010)CrossRef
6.
Cheng, A., Christensen, S., Mortensen, K.H.: Model checking coloured Petri nets exploiting strongly connected components. In: WODES’96, pp. 169–177 (1996)
7.
Clarke, E.M., Grumberg, O., Peled, D.A.: Model Checking. MIT Press, Cambridge (1999)
8.
Clavel, M., Durán, F., Eker, S., Lincoln, P., Martí-Oliet, N., Meseguer, J., Talcott, C.L. (eds.): All About Maude—A High-Performance Logical Framework, How to Specify, Program and Verify Systems in Rewriting Logic. LNCS, vol. 4350. Springer, Berlin (2007)
9.
10.
de Lara, J., Guerra, E.: Formal support for QVT-Relations with coloured Petri nets. In: MoDELS’09. LNCS, vol. 5795, pp. 256–270. Springer, Berlin (2009)
11.
Ehrig, H., Ehrig, K., Prange, U., Taentzer, G.: Fundamentals of Algebraic Graph Transformation. Springer, Berlin (2006)MATH
12.
Evangelista, S., Haddad, S., Pradat, J.-F.: Syntactical colored Petri nets reductions. In: ATVA’05. LNCS, vol. 3707, pp. 202–216. Springer, Berlin (2005)
13.
14.
García, M.: Formalization of QVT-Relations: OCL-based static semantics and alloy-based validation. In: MDSD Today, pp. 21–30. Shaker Verlag (2008)
15.
Greenyer, J., Kindler, E.: Comparing relational model transformation technologies: implementing Query/View/Transformation with triple graph grammars. Softw. Syst. Model. 9(1), 21–46 (2010)
16.
Guerra, E., de Lara, J., Orejas, F.: Inter-modelling with patterns. Softw. Syst. Model (2011, in press)
17.
Heckel, R., Küster, J.M., Taentzer, G.: Confluence of typed attributed graph transformation systems. In: ICGT. LNCS, vol. 2505, pp. 161–176. Springer, Berlin (2002)
18.
Jensen, K.: Coloured Petri Nets Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Practical Use. Monographs in Theoretical Computer Science. Springer, Berlin (1997)
19.
Jensen, K., Kristensen, L.M., Wells, L.: Coloured Petri nets and CPN tools for modelling and validation of concurrent systems. STTT 9(3–4):213–254 (2007). http://​cpntools.​org. Accessed July 2011
20.
21.
22.
Jouault, F., Allilaire, F., Bézivin, J., Kurtev, I., Valduriez, P.: ATL: a QVT-like transformation language. In: OOPSLA’06, pp. 719–720. ACM, New York (2006)
23.
24.
Kolovos, D.S.: Establishing correspondences between models with the Epsilon Comparison Language. In: ECMDA-FA’09. LNCS, vol. 5562, pp. 146–157. Springer, Berlin (2009)
25.
Kolovos, D.S., Paige, R.F., Polack, F.: Merging models with the Epsilon Merging Language (EML). In: MoDELS’06. LNCS, vol. 4199, pp. 215–229. Springer, Berlin (2006)
26.
Kolovos, D.S., Paige, R.F., Polack, F.: The Epsilon Transformation Language. In: ICMT’08. LNCS, vol. 5063, pp. 46–60. Springer, Berlin (2008)
27.
Kolovos, D.S., Ruscio, D.D., Pierantonio, A., Paige, R.F.: Different models for model matching: an analysis of approaches to support model differencing. In: CVSM’09, pp. 1–6. IEEE CS (2009)
28.
Königs, A., Schürr, A.: Tool integration with triple graph grammars: a survey. ENTCS 148(1), 113–150 (2006)
29.
30.
Lucas, F.J., Álvarez, J.A.T.: Model transformations powered by rewriting logic. In: CAiSE Forum. CEUR Proceedings, vol. 344, pp. 41–44 (2008)
31.
32.
Mellor, S.J., Scott, K., Uhl, A., Weise, D.: MDA Distilled. Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series (2004)
33.
34.
35.
Ohta, A., Tsuji, K.: On some analysis properties of colored Petri net using underlying net. In: MWSCAS’04, vol. 3, pp. 395–398. IEEE CS (2004)
36.
Petter, A., Behring, A., Mühlhäuser, M.: Solving constraints in model transformations. In: ICMT’09. LNCS, vol. 5563, pp. 132–147. Springer, Berlin (2009)
37.
38.
Romeikat, R., Roser, S., Müllender, P., Bauer, B.: Translation of QVT relations into QVT operational mappings. In: ICMT’08. LNCS, vol. 5063, pp. 137–151. Springer, Berlin (2008)
39.
Schürr, A.: Specification of graph translators with triple graph grammars. In: WG’94. LNCS, vol. 903, pp. 151–163. Springer, Berlin (1994)
40.
41.
Stahl, T., Volter, M.: Model-Driven Software Development: Technology, Engineering, Management. Wiley, New York (2006)
42.
43.
Stevens, P.: A simple game-theoretic approach to checkonly QVT relations. Softw. Syst. Model (2012, in press)
44.
van Amstel, M., Bosems, S., Kurtev, I., Pires, L.F.: Performance in model transformations: experiments with ATL and QVT. In: ICMT’11. LNCS, vol. 6707, pp. 198–212. Springer, Berlin (2011)
45.
Metadata
Title
Colouring: execution, debug and analysis of QVT-relations transformations through coloured Petri nets
Authors
Esther Guerra
Juan de Lara
Publication date
01-10-2014
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Software and Systems Modeling / Issue 4/2014
Print ISSN: 1619-1366
Electronic ISSN: 1619-1374
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-012-0292-6

Other articles of this Issue 4/2014

Software and Systems Modeling 4/2014 Go to the issue

Regular Paper

Transformation challenges: from software models to performance models

Expert's Voice

“No shit” or “Oh, shit!”: responses to observations on the use of UML in professional practice

Guest Editorial

Introduction to the theme issue on models for quality of software architecture

Special Section Paper

Stateful component-based performance models

Theme Section Paper

Deriving performance-relevant infrastructure properties through model-based experiments with Ginpex

Theme Section Paper

Modeling event-based communication in component-based software architectures for performance predictions

Premium Partner

    Image Credits