Integrating behaviour in software models: an event coordination notation -- concepts and prototype

ABSTRACT

One of the main problems in model-based software engineering is modelling behaviour in such a way that the behaviour models can be easily integrated with each other, with the structural software models and with pre-existing software.

In this paper, we propose an event coordination notation (ECNO) that deals with this problem. We present the main concepts and rationales behind this notation and discuss a prototype and run-time environment that executes these models, and provides an API so that other parts of the software can be easily integrated.

The core concepts of the ECNO seem to be stabilizing now, and the prototypic implementation of ECNO and its runtime environment show that the concepts of ECNO work. Still, there are some design issues and open questions that we discuss in this paper.

References

1. B. Axenath, E. Kindler, and V. Rubin. AMFIBIA: A meta-model for the integration of business process modelling aspects. International Journal on Business Process Integration and Management, 2(2):120--131, 2007.
2. A. Basu, M. Bozga, and J. Sifakis. Modeling heterogeneous real-time components in BIP. In Software Enigneering and Formal Methods, Forth IEEE International Conference, pages 3--12. IEEE Computer Society, 2006.
3. J. Brichau and M. Haupt. Survey of aspect-oriented languages and execution models. Technical Report AOSD-Europe-VUB-01, AOSD-Europe, May 2005.
4. F. Budinsky, D. Steinberg, E. Merks, R. Ellersick, and T. J. Grose. Eclipse Modeling Framework. The Eclipse Series. Addison-Wesley, 2nd edition edition, Apr. 2006.
5. R. Chitchyan, A. Rashid, P. Sawyer, A. Garcia, M. P. Alarcon, J. Bakker, B. Tekinerdogan, and A. J. Siobhán Clarke and Survey of aspect-oriented analysis and design approaches. Technical Report AOSD-Europe-ULANC-9, AOSD-Europe, May 2005.
6. S. Clarke and E. Baniassad. Aspect-oriented analysis and design: The Theme approach. Addison-Wesley, 2005.
7. J. Eker, J. W. Janneck, E. A. Lee, J. Liu, X. Liu, J. Ludvig, S. Neuendorffer, S. Sachs, and Y. Xiong. Taming heterogeneity - the ptolemy approach. Proceedings of the IEEE, 91(1):127--144, 2003.
8. W. Harrison and H. Ossher. Subject-oriented programming (a critique of pure objects). In OOPSLA, pages 411--428. ACM, 1993.
9. C. A. R. Hoare. Communicating Sequential Processes. Prentice-Hall, 1985.
10. M. A. Jackson. A system development method. In Tools and notations for program construction: An advanced course, pages 1--25. Cambridge University Press, 1982.
11. G. Kiczales, E. Hilsdale, J. Hugunin, M. Kersten, J. Palm, and W. G. Griswold. An overview of Aspect J. In Proc. of ECOOP 2001 -- Object-Oriented Programming, 15<sup>th</sup> European Conference, pages 327--353. Springer, June 2001.
12. E. Kindler. Model-based software engineering: The challenges of modelling behaviour. In M. Aksit, E. Kindler, E. Roubtsova, and A. McNeile, editors, Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Behavioural Modelling - Foundations and Application (BM-FA 2010), pages 51--66, June 2010. (Also published in the ACM electronic libraries).
13. E. Kindler. Modelling local and global behaviour: Petri nets and event coordination. In PNSE 2011, 2011. Accepted paper.
14. E. Kindler and D. Schmelter. Aspect-oriented modelling from a different angle: Modelling domains with aspects. In 12<sup>th</sup> International Workshop on Aspect-Oriented Modeling, Apr. 2008.
15. E. A. Lee. The problem with threads. IEEE Computer, 39(5):33--42, 2006.
16. A. T. McNeile and E. E. Roubtsova. Programming in protocols - a paradigm of behavioral programming. In C. Gonzalez-Perez and S. Jablonski, editors, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering, pages 23--30, May 2008.
17. A. T. McNeile and N. Simons. State machines as mixins. Journal of Object Technology, 2(6):85--101, 2003.
18. S. J. Mellor and M. J. Balcer. Executable UML: A Foundation for Model-driven Architecture. Addison-Wesley, 2002.
19. R. Milner. Communication and Concurrency. International Series in Computer Science. Prentice Hall, 1989.
20. R. Milner, J. Parrow, and D. Walker. A calculus of mobile processes (Parts I & II). Information and Computation, 100(1):1--40 & 41--77, 1992.
21. OMG. Meta Object Facility (MOF) specification, version 1.4.1. Technical Report formal/05-05-05, The Object Management Group, Inc., May 2005.

Index Terms

• Software and its engineering

  • Software creation and management

    • Software development techniques

      • Object oriented development

  • Software notations and tools

    • Context specific languages

      • Domain specific languages

      • Visual languages

    • Development frameworks and environments

      • Object oriented frameworks

    • General programming languages

      • Language features

        • Modules / packages

    • System description languages

  • Software organization and properties

    • Software system structures

      • Software architectures

      • Software system models

        • Petri nets

        • State systems