RoleBased Metamodeling Language RBML

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Role-Based Metamodeling Language (RBML)

• Dae-Kyoo Kim
• Computer Science and Engineering Department
• Oakland University

2
Outline

• What is a Design Pattern?
• Motivation of the RBML
• What is the RBML?
• RBML Approach
• Tool Support
• Publications
• Future Work
• Related Research Areas

3
What is a Design Pattern?

• A design pattern describes solutions for
  recurring design problems
  
• Benefits of using design patterns
• Help to produce high-quality systems by using
  proven solutions
  
• Support cost-effective software development

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Typical Description of Design Patterns

• A description of a design pattern consists of two
  parts
  
• Usage Context
• Usage guidelines, quality attributes, principles,
  trade-offs, consequences
  
• Problem and solution descriptions
• Structure, participants, collaborations
• Typical examples

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Research Motivation

• What is the problem with current way of
  describing design patterns?
  
• Patterns are informally described
• Informal pattern descriptions
• make it difficult to use design patterns
  systematically
  
• For example, using informal descriptions it is
  difficult to develop tools that enable systematic
  pattern-based development
  
• can lead to ambiguity in communication

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How can we overcome these problems then?

• We need notations that can specify design
  patterns precisely and practically
  
• As a solution we have developed a pattern
  specification language called Role-Based
  Metamodeling Language (RBML)

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RBML

• RBML is a language developed to specify design
  patterns precisely and practically
  
• RBML is based on the Unified Modeling Language,
  the standard for object-oriented modeling
  
• RBML is developed to facilitate use of patterns
  exclusively for UML models
  
• RBML is capable of capturing both structural and
  behavioral properties of patterns

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RBML

• RBML can be used to specify both problem and
  solution space of a pattern
  
• RBML can be used to specify not only design
  patterns but also domain-specific patterns

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Background UML Diagrams
Association
sd
Example
lifeline
Employee
Company
e1Employee
c1Company
Generalization
stockPrice()
Clerk
message
Class
Class Diagram
Sequence Diagram
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Background UML Metamodel

• UML metamodel defines syntax and semantics of UML
  models at M1 level.

1
1


2..
1
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Background UML Infrastructure

• 4-Layered Infrastructure

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RBML Approach

• A pattern specification is defined as a family of
  UML models

UML Metamodel
Is_specialized
Pattern Specification
defines
M2
defines
M1
Solution Models
UML Models
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RBML Pattern Specifications

• An RBML pattern specification defines solutions
  of a pattern as a family of UML models using
  roles
  
• A role defines properties of pattern
  participants
  
• A pattern is specified using three types of
  specifications each of which captures a different
  perspective of the pattern
  
• Static Pattern Specifications (SPSs)
• Captures structural properties of a pattern
• Interaction Pattern Specifications (IPSs)
• Captures interaction behavior of a pattern
• Statemachine Pattern Specifications (SMPSs)
• Captures state-based behavior of a pattern

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Pattern Role
A pattern role is played by model elements at M1
pattern role
M2
defines a subclass of
Class Role Item
Class
plays
Instance of
defines a subset of instances of
M1
Car
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RBML Pattern Specification

• A pattern specification consists of three
  components
  
• Abstract Syntax defines structure of the pattern
  participants
  
• Metamodel-Level Constraints define
  well-formedness rules in the abstract syntax
  
• Constraint Templates define model-level
  constraints that are instantiated in the context
  of a specific model

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Uses of RBML Pattern Specifications

• Three general uses
• As a design template to generate UML models
• As a compliance check point to verify existence
  of patterns in UML models (also known as pattern
  conformance checking)
  
• As a transformation specification to refactor a
  non-pattern based model to a pattern based model

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Checking Conformance

• In this presentation, we are going to demonstrate
  how an RBML pattern specification can be used to
  check pattern conformance

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Observer Pattern
The figure shows an example of SPS that describes
the structure of the Observer design pattern
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Conforming Class Diagram
Kiln
bound_to
Class Role
1..
temp Int
Subject
pressure Int
ready Int
SubjectState Int 1..
attachTempObs(oTempObs)
Attach(obsvObserver) 1..
attachPressObs(oPressObs)
sub 1..
1..1
1..1
Association Role
obsPress
Observes
obsTemp
obs 1..1


Class Role
1..
Observer
PressObs
TempObs
ObserverState Int 1..1
currPress Int
currTemp Int
Update(subjSubject) 1..1
updatePress(kKiln)
updateTemp(kKiln)
SPS
Class Diagram
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SPS Conformance Rules

• The following conformance rules are used to check
  conformance of a class diagram to an SPS
  
• Check realization multiplicities for classifiers
• Check structural conformance of classifiers
• Check metamodel-level constraints
• Check conformance of features
• Check realization multiplicities for features
• Check model-level constraints
• Check conformance of relationships
• Check metamodel-level constraints
• Check realization multiplicities for association
  ends

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Interaction Pattern Specification (IPS)
The figure shows an example of IPS that describes
the interaction
behavior of the Observer pattern
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Conforming Sequence Diagram
sd
KilnInteraction
sKiln
t1TempObs
t2TempObs
mMonitor
notifyObs()
updateTemp(k)
logUpdateRecd(s)
StKilngetTemp()
updateTemp(k)
logUpdateRecd(s)
stKilngetTemp()
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IPS Conformance Rules

• The following conformance rules are used to check
  conformance of a sequence diagram to an IPS
  
• Check conformance of lifelines
• Check classifiers corresponding to lifelines
• Check conformance of message
• Check operations corresponding to messages
• Check metamodel-level constraint
• Check conformance of message sequence

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State Machine Pattern Specification (SMPS)
The figure shows an
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Conforming Statechart
SubwayTurnstyle
PassBar
Alarm
Reset
Coin
Card
PassBar
Statechart Diagram
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SMPS Conformance Rules

• The following conformance rules are used to check
  conformance of a statechart diagram to an SMPS
  
• Check realization multiplicities of states,
  transitions, and triggers
  
• Check conformance of states
• Check metamodel-level constraints
• Check conformance of transitions
• Check metamodel-level constraints
• Check conformance of source and target states
• Check conformance of triggers
• Check metamodel-level constraints
• Check conformance of trigger template constraints

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Tool RBML Pattern Instantiator (RBML-PI)

• RBML-PI instantiates an RBML pattern
  specification to generate UML class diagrams and
  sequence diagrams that conform to the pattern
  captured by the RBML specification
• Developed as an add-in component to IBM Rational
  Rose which is the industrial standard UML tool
  
• Developed in C

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Development Process Using RBML-PI

• Select an RBML pattern specification to use
• Provide application information to the tool to
  determine the structure of the application being
  built
  
• Instantiate the RBML specification to generate a
  UML model
  
• Detail the generated model with
  application-specific information to complete the
  model

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Tool Demonstration

• The following slides demonstrate the RBML-PI
  using the CheckIn-CheckOut (CICO) pattern to
  build a library system by instantiating the CICO
  pattern
• The CICO pattern describes a solution to the
  design problem of systems where items are checked
  in and checked out
  
• Examples video rental systems, library systems,
  vehicle rental systems

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CICO Domain Pattern SPS
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Instantiated Class Diagram for a Library System
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CICO CheckOut IPS
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Completed Class Diagram
multiple instantiations
additional features
generalization instantiation
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Instantiated Sequence Diagram for CheckOut
Scenario
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Completed Sequence Diagram for Reservation
Scenario
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Publications

• Development of the RBML and conformance rules
• Robert France, Dae-Kyoo Kim, Sudipto Ghosh, and
  Eungee Song, A UML-Based Pattern Specification
  Techniques,IEEE Transactions on Software
  Engineering, 2004.
• Robert France, Dae-Kyoo Kim, Eunjee Song, and
  Sudipto Ghosh, Using Roles to Characterize Model
  Families, Practical Foundations of Business and
  System Specifications, Haim Kilov (Editor),
  Kluwer Academic Publisher, August, 2003, ISBN
  140201485
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Robert France, Sudipto Ghosh, and
  Eunjee Song, A Role-Based Metamodeling Approach
  to Specifying Design Patterns, Proceedings of
  27th IEEE Annual International Computer Software
  and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Dallas,
  Texas, November, 2003.
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Robert France, Sudipto Ghosh, and
  Eunjee Song, A UML-Based Metamodeling Language
  to Specify Design Patterns, Proceedings of
  Workshop on Software Model Engineering (WiSME)
  with UML 2003, San Francisco, October, 2003.

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Publications

• Domain Pattern CheckIn-CheckOut (CICO) pattern
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Robert France, and Sudipto Ghosh,
  A UML-Based Language for Specifying
  Domain-Specific Patterns, Journal of Visual
  Languages and Computing, Special Issue on Domain
  Modeling with Visual Languages, 2004.
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Robert France, Sudipto Ghosh,
  Eunjee Song, Using Role-Based Modeling Language
  (RBML) as Precise Characterizations of Model
  Families, Proceedings of the 8th IEEE
  International Conference on Engineering of
  Complex Computer Systems (ICECCS), Greenbelt, MD,
  December, 2002.
• Pattern-Based Model Refactoring
• Robert France, Sudipto Ghosh, Eunjee Song,
  Dae-Kyoo Kim, "A Metamodeling Approach to
  Pattern-based Model Refactoring", IEEE Software,
  Special Issue on Model Driven Development,
  Vol.20, No.5, pp. 52-58 September/October 2003.
• Eunjee Song, Robert France, Dae-Kyoo Kim, Sudipto
  Ghosh, "Using Roles for Pattern-Based Model
  Refactoring", In Proceedings of Workshop on
  Critical Systems Development  (CSDUML) with UML
  2002, Dresden, Germany, September 30 - October 4,
  2002.

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Publications

• Design aspects Access control policies (MAC,
  RBAC, HAC)
  
• Indrakshi Ray, Na Li, Robert France, and Dae-Kyoo
  Kim, Using UML to Visualize Role-Based Access
  Control Constraints, In Proceedings of 9th ACM
  Symposium on Access Control Models and
  Technologies (SACMAT), Yorktown Heights, NY,
  2004.
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Indrakshi Ray, Robert France, and
  Na Li, Modeling Role-Based Access Control Using
  Parameterized UML Models, In Proceedings of
  Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering
  (FASE/ETAPS), Barcelona, Spain, 2004.
• Indrakshi Ray, Na Li, Dae-Kyoo Kim, and Robert
  France, Using Parameterized UML to Specify and
  Compose Access Control Models, In Proceedings of
  Conference on Integrity and Internal Control in
  Information Systems (IICIS), Lausanne,
  Switzerland, November, 2003.
• Component-Based Development
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Sudipto Ghosh, Robert France, and
  Eunjee Song, Software Component Specification
  Using Role-Based Modeling Language, In
  Proceedings of 11th OOPSLA Workshop on Behavioral
  Semantics Serving the Customer, Seattle,
  Washington, November 4, 2002.

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Publications

• Requirements aspects NASA/Ames Research Center
• Jon Whittle, Joao Araujo, and Dae-Kyoo Kim,
  Modeling and Validating Interaction Aspects in
  UML Proceedings of Workshop on Aspect Oriented
  Modeling with UML 2003, San Francisco, CA,
  October 2003.
• Joao Araujo, Jon Whittle, and Dae-Kyoo Kim,
  Modeling, Composing and Validating
  Scenario-Based Requirements with Aspects
  Proceedings of Requirements Engineering 2004,
  Kyoto, Japan, September, 2004.
• Development of RBML-PI
• Dae-Kyoo Kim, Jon Whittle, and Robert France,
  Generating Design Models from Pattern
  Specification, Under work.

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Future Work

• State Machine Pattern Specification (SMPS)
• Composite states
• States with actions
• Triggers with actions
• Specification of non-functional properties
• Further development of RBML-PI
• Incorporating pattern properties
• Checking conformance

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Related Research Areas

• Pattern Finding
• Problem specifications can be used to find
  patterns that can be used for a given UML model
  
• Pattern-Based Model Refactoring
• Aspect-Oriented Development
• Component-Based Development
• Specifying UML Profiles

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Discussion
http//www.secs.oakland.edu/kim2/
kim2_at_oakland.edu