Metamodel Based Methodology for Dynamic Component Systems

MBE solutions, including their corresponding MDA frameworks, cover many parts of industrial application development processes. Although model based development methodologies are in abundance, fully integrated, domain specific methodologies still find their niche in specialized application scenarios. In this paper, such an alternative methodology will be presented that targets reconfigurable networked systems executing on top of interconnected heterogeneous hardware nodes. The methodology covers the whole development cycle; it even utilizes a configuration model for component reconfigurability, and also involves a first-order logic based structural modeling language, Alloy, in the analysis of component deployment and reconfiguration. The methodology is supported by both a metamodel based tooling environment within GME and a robust distributed middleware platform over Erlang/OTP. Due to its special applicability, the methodology is limited in scope and scaling, though core parts have been successfully showcased in a sensor network demonstrator of the IST project RUNES.