ModelDriven Aspect Adaptation To Support Modular Software Evolution

1
Model-Driven Aspect AdaptationTo Support Modular
Software Evolution
March 30th, 2009

• Ph.D. Defense
• Jing Zhang
• zhangj_at_cis.uab.edu
• http//www.cis.uab.edu/zhangj

Committee Members Dr. Jeff Gray (Academic
Advisor) Dr. Barrett Bryant Dr. Aniruddha
Gokhale Dr. Marjan Mernik Dr. Chengcui
Zhang
2
Overview of Presentation
Motivation
Challenges
Research Goals
Approaches
Evaluation
3
First Law of Software Evolution

• Software that is being used must be
  continually adapted or it becomes progressively
  less satisfactory.
• -- Manny M. Lehman
• Manny M. Lehman, Laws of Software
  Evolution Revisited, In Proceedings of the 5th
  European Workshop on Software Process Technology
  (EWSPT), Nancy, France, October 1996, pages
  108124.

4
Challenges in Software Evolution1. Model
Evolution
5
Challenges in Software Evolution2. Legacy
Evolution
6
Challenges in Software Evolution3. Model/Code
Co-Evolution
7
Criteria for Software Evolution

• Modularization
• Dividing a complex system into a set of
  manageable building blocks, or modules
• Modular software evolution
• Changeability
• Individual modules should be able to change
  without radical impact to the rest of the system
• Comprehensibility
• High-level evolutionary requirements need to be
  well-understoodand thus systematically
  translated into the low-level change adaptation
• Independent Development
• Evolution tasks need to be divided into
  individual modules that can be implemented and
  maintained by different groups

8
Research Objectives
Model Evolution
Aspect- Orientation
Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
Model/Code Co-Evolution
Legacy Evolution
Changeability
Comprehensibility
Independent Development
9
Thesis Statement

• This dissertation research is devoted to
  approaches uniting Model-Driven Engineering (MDE)
  with Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD)
  techniques to support modular software evolution.
  The ultimate goal is to improve changeability,
  comprehensibility and independent development of
  the evolutionary task implementation.
• First, the Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
  (AOAM) approach is investigated to support
  evolution of UML activity models.
• Second, the Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation (MDAA)
  approach is investigated to facilitate model/code
  co-evolution and legacy evolution.

10
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

11
Two Types of Software Restructuring

• Horizontal transformation
• Transformation within the same level of
  abstraction
• Model Transformation, Aspect-Oriented Modeling
  (AOM), Program Transformation, Aspect-Oriented
  Programming (AOP)
• Vertical translation
• Translation, or synthesis, between layers of
  abstraction
• Reverse Engineering, Model-Driven Engineering
  (MDE)

ComputePositionC
ComputePositionwith LockingC
NavDisplayC
12
Model-Driven Engineering

• OMG UML-based generic modeling
• Rational Rose
• Telelogic TAU
• Domain-specific modeling (DSM)
• GME
• Microsoft software factories

13
Unified Modeling Language (UML)

• Structural modeling
• Class diagram
• Component diagram
• Deployment diagram
• Behavioral modeling
• State machine diagram
• Activity diagram
• Use case diagram
• Interaction diagram

14
Telelogic TAU A UML-based MDE Tool
15
Domain-Specific Modeling (DSM) in Generic
Modeling Environment (GME)
Metaprogramming Interface
Application Domain
Application Evolution
Environment Evolution
App 1
App 2
App 3
Modeling Environment
Model Builder
16
Crosscutting Concerns

• Problems
• Reusability
• Maintainability
• Evolvability

17
Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD)

• Advanced separation of concerns
• Modularize crosscutting concerns
• Aspect
• Encapsulates each crosscutting concern in an
  individual module
• Aspect weaver
• Composes aspects with the base modules

18
AOSD Terminology

• Join Point
• A point of interest through which two or more
  concerns may be composed
• Pointcut
• A collection of join points
• Advice
• The adaptation to be applied at each join point
  specified in a pointcut

Aspect
Aspect applicability
Pointcut
Aspect functionality
Advice
19
AOSD Technologies

• Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP)
• AspectJ
• The most widely used AOP language
• Tailored for Java
• Aspect-Oriented Modeling (AOM)
• Constraint-Specification Aspect Weaver (C-SAW)
• Aspect model weaver for domain-specific models
• Embedded Constraint Language (ECL) to support
  model weaving
• A plug-in for GME
• Motorola WEAVR
• Aspect model weaver for UML state machines
• A plug-in for Telelogic TAU

20
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

21
Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
22
Order Processing Activity Model
Operation Action
Send Signal Action
Receive Event Action
Fork
23
Aspect-Activity Metamodel (Profile)
24
Tracing Aspect, Pointcuts and Advice
25
Order Processing Model with Tracing Aspect
26
Pointcut Composition in AOAM

• Operators
• and ()
• or ()
• not (!)
• cflow
• cflowbelow
• within

27
Advice Composition in AOAM

• Operators
• binds
• follows
• Advice are ordered based on the precedence
  relationships (e.g., ltltfollowsgtgt)
• Advice1 has precedence over Advice2 at the shared
  join point
• Interference between the advice is reduced by
  declaring the advice precedence explicitly

28
Aspect Composition in AOAM

• Operators
• crosscuts
• follows
• hidden_by
• dependent_on
• Interference between the aspects is reduced by
  declaring the aspect precedence explicitly

• TracingAspect follows ExceptionAspect
• ExceptionAspect has higher precedence than
  TracingAspect
• LoggingAspect is hidden by TracingAspect
• The presence of TracingAspect inactivates
  LoggingAspect
• LoggingAspect is dependent on EncryptionAspect
• LoggingAspect can only be applied in the presence
  of the EncryptionAspect

29
Summary of AOAM

• Contributions
• AOAM supports modular evolution in activity
  modeling
• Evolutionary requirements are encapsulated in
  aspect models
• Aspect models allow specific concerns to be
  maintained, comprehended and developed
  independently
• Aspect models are woven into the base model via
  the AOAM weaver
• AOAM allows precedence relationships to be
  specified at the modeling level to prevent
  undesirable interferences between aspects
• AOAM weaver is implemented in Telelogic TAU, as
  an extension of the Motorola state machine weaver

30
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

31
Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation Framework
Meta- metamodel
Conforms To
Aspect Metamodel
Metamodel
Model Extractor
Model
Model Composer
Aspect Model
Enhanced Model
Aspect Code Generator
Simulation/Testing
Source Code
Enhanced Code
Aspect Code
Program Composer
32
Roles in MDAA Process
33
MDAA Component Model Extractor
34
MDAA Component Model Composer

• AOM Weaver
• C-SAW
• AOAM Weaver

35
MDAA Component Aspect Code Generator
36
MDAA Component Program Composer

• Program transformation engine
• Design Maintenance System (DMS)
• ASF SDF
• AOP weaver
• AspectJ
• AspectC

37
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

38
DSM-Based MDAA Instantiation

• Evolutionary requirements are captured as higher
  level policy strategies and weaved into models
• Ensures causal connection between model changes
  and the underlying source code of the legacy
  system
• Large-scale adaptation across multiple source
  files that are driven by minimal changes to the
  model properties
• Domain experts are shielded from lower-level
  transformation rules

39
Metamodel Composer
Metamodel Composer

• Why metamodel composer?
• C-SAW provides no support for transformation
  BETWEEN two different metamodels
• Need a means to compose base metamodel and aspect
  metamodel

40
Experimental Case StudyBold Stroke Product Line

• Background context
• Mission-control software for Boeing military
  aircraft under development since 1995
• CORBA event-based systems
• Thousands of components implemented in over three
  million lines of C code
• Embedded System Modeling Language (ESML)
• Key challenges
• Difficult to evolve the underlying source
  representation to address new requirements
• Impossible to determine, a priori, all of the
  future adaptation requests

41
ESML Base Metamodel
42
Case Study A Black Box Data Recorder

• Requirement Record the state information of the
  aircraft according to polices defined in a model
• Under different stages of development, a concern
  may need to be adjusted based on different
  contexts, e.g., testing on the ground vs.
  in-flight recording
• Ability to rapidly explore design alternatives
  that represent different policies

43
Composed ESML Metamodel with Logging Aspect
44
Apply C-SAW to Insert Logging Aspect to ESML Base
Model
45
ESML Component with Logging Aspect
46
Generated DMS Transformation Rules to Insert
LogOnMethodExit Aspect
47
Transformed C Source Code
log.add("data1_" data1_)
log.add("data1_" data1_)
log.add("data1_" data1_)
log.add("data1_" data1_)
log.add("data1_" data1_)
48
Experimental Results
49
MDAA Interpreters for Different Aspect Models
50
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

51
Activity-Based MDAA Instantiation
52
Experimental Case StudyIntelligence Network
Fault Management (INFM)

• Background context
• A fault management software developed by
  Motorola Labs for CDMA cellular network
• Alarm correlation by patterndiscovery algorithms
• Implemented in over 50K lines of Java code

• Key challenges
• Increasing computational complexity would cause
  various software failures (e.g., timeout failure
  and pattern failure)
• Different strategies are needed to resolve
  software failures
• Failure management strategies are subject to
  change with evolving system requirements

53
INFM Alarm Correlation Activity Base Model
54
Case Study A Pattern Failure Handler Aspect
55
Composed INFM Model by AOAM Weaver
56
Generated AspectJ Code for the Pattern Failure
Handler Aspect
57
Summary of MDAA

• MDAA provides modular evolution for legacy
  systems by uniting MDE and AOSD technologies
• Evolutionary changes are encapsulated in
  high-level abstract aspect models
• Aspect models allow specific evolutionary
  requirements to be maintained, comprehended and
  developed independently
• Aspect models are translated into the low-level
  aspect code by aspect code generators
• The legacy system is transformed by weaving the
  generated aspect code into the base source code

58
Comparison of DSM-based and UML-based MDAA
Instantiation
59
Outline

• Motivation and Challenges
• Research Objectives
• Background
• Aspect-Oriented Activity Modeling
• Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation
• DSM-Based MDAA
• UML Activity-Based MDAA
• Future Work and Conclusion

60
Future Work

• AOM
• More types of join points support in AOAM
• Aspect mining and refactoring at the model level
• Extend initial experimental work on aspect
  identification to support aspect extraction and
  refactoring
• Aspect interference analysis
• Extend preference-based approach for reducing
  aspect interference
• Perform formal evaluation and analysis for
  detecting aspect interference
• MDAA
• System validation through model simulation
• Version control support
• MDA (Model-Driven Architecture) and ADM
  (Architecture-Driven Modernization) alignment

61
Conclusion

• Software evolution challenges
• Activity model evolution
• Solution AOAM weaver
• Model/Code co-evolution, legacy evolution
• Solution MDAA framework
• Contribution
• Modular software evolution by combining MDE and
  AOSD
• Changeability aspect models are able to change
  without radical impact to the rest of the system
• Comprehensibility evolutionary requirements are
  captured in high-level aspect models and
  systematically translated into the low-level
  change adaptation
• Independent Development evolution tasks are
  divided into individual aspect modules that can
  be developed and maintained by different groups

62
Representative Publications

• Book chapters (3)
• Jeff Gray, Sandeep Neema, Jing Zhang, Yuehua Lin,
  Ted Bapty, Aniruddha Gokhale, and Douglas C.
  Schmidt, Concern Separation for Adaptive QoS
  Modeling in Distributed Real-Time Embedded
  Systems, in Behavioral Modeling for Embedded
  Systems and Technologies Applications for Design
  and Implementation, Idea Group, 2009.
• Jing Zhang, Yuehua Lin, and Jeff Gray, "Generic
  and Domain-Specific Model Refactoring using a
  Model Transformation Engine," Model-driven
  Software Development - Research and Practice in
  Software Engineering, Springer, ISBN
  3-540-25613-X, 2005, Chapter 9, pp. 199-218.
• Yuehua Lin, Jing Zhang, and Jeff Gray, "A
  Framework for Testing Model Transformations,"
  Model-driven Software Development - Research and
  Practice in Software Engineering, Springer, ISBN
  3-540-25613-X, 2005, Chapter 10, pp. 219-236.

63
Representative Publications (Cont)

• Journal papers (7)
• Suman Roychoudhury, Jeff Gray, Jing Zhang,
  Purushotham Bangalore, and Anthony Skjellum,
  Modularizing Scientific Libraries With
  Aspect-Oriented And Generative Programming
  Techniques, Acta Electrotechnica et Informatica
  Journal, 2009.
• Yuehua Lin, Jeff Gray, Jing Zhang, Steve
  Nordstrom, Aniruddha Gokhale, and Sandeep Neema,
  Replicators Transformations to Address Model
  Scalability, Software Practice and Experience,
  vol. 38, no. 14, November 2008, pp. 1475-1497.
• Jing Zhang, Jeff Gray, Yuehua Lin, and Robert
  Tairas, Aspect Mining from a Modeling
  Perspective, International Journal of Computer
  Applications in Technology, Volume 31, Number
  1-2, March 2008, pp. 74-82.
• Faizan Javed, Marjan Mernik, Jeff Gray, Jing
  Zhang, Barrett Bryant, and Suman Roychoudhury,
  Using A Program Transformation Engine to Infer
  Types in A Metamodel Recovery System, Acta
  Electrotechnica et Informatica, vol. 8, no. 1,
  January-March 2008, pp. 3-10.
• Jing Zhang, Thomas Cottenier, Aswin van den Berg,
  and Jeff Gray, Aspect Composition in the
  Motorola Aspect-Oriented Modeling Weaver, JOT
  special issue on AOM, August 2007, pp. 89-108.
• Krishnakumar Balasubramanian, Aniruddha Gokhale,
  Yuehua Lin, Jing Zhang, and Jeff Gray, Weaving
  Deployment Aspects into Domain-Specific Models,
  International Journal on Software Engineering
  and Knowledge Engineering, vol. 16, no. 3, June
  2006, pp. 403-424.
• Jeff Gray, Yuehua Lin and Jing Zhang, Automating
  Change Evolution in Model-Driven Engineering,
  IEEE Computer (Special Issue on Model-Driven
  Engineering), vol. 39, no. 2, February 2006, pp.
  51-58.

64
Representative Publications (Cont)

• Conference papers (11)
• Michael Jiang, Jing Zhang, Hong Zhao, and
  Yuanyuan Zhou, Enhancing Software Product Line
  Maintenance with Source Code Mining,
  International Conference on Wireless Algorithms,
  Systems and Applications (WASA), Dallas, TX,
  October 2008, pp. 538-547.
• Yan Liu, Jing Zhang, Xin Meng, and John
  Strassner, Sequential Proximity-based Clustering
  for Telecommunication Network Alarm Correlation,
  The Fifth International Symposium on Neural
  Networks (ISNN), Beijing, China, September 2008,
  pp. 30-39.
• Michael Jiang, Jing Zhang, Hong Zhao, and
  Yuanyuan Zhou, Maintaining Software Product
  Lines an Industrial Practice, International
  Conference on Software Maintenance (ICSM),
  Beijing, China, September 2008, pp. 444-447.
• John Strassner, Srini Samudrala, Greg Cox, Yan
  Liu, Michael Jiang, Jing Zhang, Sven van der
  Meer, Micheal Ó Foghlu and Willie Donnellu, The
  Design of a New Context-Aware Policy Model for
  Autonomic Networking, The 5th IEEE International
  Conference on Autonomic Computing (ICAC),
  Chicago, IL, June 2008, pp. 119-128.
• Yan Liu, Jing Zhang, Michael Jiang, Dave Raymer,
  and John Strassner, A Model-based Approach to
  Adding Autonomic Capabilities to Network Fault
  Management System, IEEE/IFIP Network Operations
  and Management Symposium (NOMS 2008), Salvador,
  Brazil, April 2008, pp. 859-862.
• Yan Liu, Jing Zhang, Michael Jiang, Dave Raymer,
  and John Strassner, A Case Study A Model-Based
  Approach to Retrofit a Network Fault Management
  System with Self-Healing Functionality, 5th IEEE
  International Conference on Engineering of
  Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (EASe), Belfast,
  Northern Ireland, March/April 2008, pp. 9-18.
• Jing Zhang, Yan Liu, Michael Jiang and John
  Strassner, An Aspect-Oriented Approach to
  Handling Crosscutting Concerns in Activity
  Modeling, IAENG International Conference on
  Software Engineering, Hong Kong, March 2008, pp.
  885-890.
• Best Paper Award Jeff Gray, Yuehua Lin, Jing
  Zhang, Steve Nordstrom, Aniruddha Gokhale,
  Sandeep Neema, and Swapna Gokhale, Replicators
  Transformations to Address Model Scalability,
  Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems
  (MoDELS) (formerly the UML series of
  conferences), Springer-Verlag LNCS 3713, Montego
  Bay, Jamaica, October 2005, pp. 295-308.
• Jeff Gray, Jing Zhang, Yuehua Lin, Hui Wu, Suman
  Roychoudhury, Rajesh Sudarsan, Sandeep Neema,
  Feng Shi, and Ted Bapty, Model-Driven Program
  Transformation of a Large Avionics Application,
  Generative Programming and Component Engineering
  (GPCE 2004), Springer-Verlag LNCS, Vancouver, BC,
  October 2004, pp. 361-378.
• Song Zhou, Chuanxi Xu, Hui Wu, Jing Zhang, Yuehua
  Lin, Juanqin Wang, Jeff Gray, and Barrett Bryant,
  E-R Modeler A Database Modeling Toolkit for
  Eclipse, 42nd Annual ACM SE Conference,
  Huntsville, AL, April 2004,pp. 160-165.
• Suman Roychoudhury, Jeff Gray, Hui Wu, Jing
  Zhang, and Yuehua Lin, A Comparative Analysis of
  Meta-programming and Aspect-Orientation, 41st
  Annual ACM SE Conference, Savannah, GA, March
  7-8, 2003, pp. 196-201.

65
Representative Publications (Cont)

• Workshop papers (10)
• Yan Liu, Jing Zhang, and John Strassner,
  Model-Driven Adaptive Self-Healing for Autonomic
  Computing, The 3rd IEEE International Workshop
  on Modeling Autonomic Communication Environments
  (MACE 2008), Samos Island, Greece, September
  22-26, 2008.
• John Strassner, Yan Liu and Jing Zhang, A
  Context-Aware Policy Model to Support Autonomic
  Networking, The First IEEE International
  Workshop on Model-Driven Development of Autonomic
  Systems (MDDAS) - A Workshop held at COMPSAC,
  Turku, Finland, July-August 2008.
• Michael Jiang, Jing Zhang, David Raymer and John
  Strassner, A Modeling Framework for Self-Healing
  Software Systems, Models_at_run.time - A Workshop
  held at MoDELS Conference, Nashville, TN, October
  2007.
• Jing Zhang, Thomas Cottenier, Aswin van den Berg,
  and Jeff Gray, Aspect Interference and
  Composition in the Motorola Aspect-Oriented
  Modeling Weaver, MoDELS Workshop on
  Aspect-Oriented Modeling, Genova, Italy, October
  2006.
• Arundhati Kogekar, Dimple Kaul, Aniruddha
  Gokhale, Paul Vandal, Upsorn Praphamontripong,
  Swapna Gokhale, Jing Zhang, Yuehua Lin, Jeff
  Gray, Model-driven Generative Techniques for
  Scalable Performabality Analysis of Distributed
  Systems, IPDPS Workshop on Next Generation
  Systems, Rhodes Island, Greece, April 2006.
• Jing Zhang, Jeff Gray, and Yuehua Lin, A
  Model-Driven Approach to Enforce Crosscutting
  Assertion Checking, 27th ICSE Workshop on the
  Modeling and Analysis of Concerns in Software
  (MACS), St. Louis, MO, May 2005.
• Jing Zhang, Jeff Gray, and Yuehua Lin, A
  Generative Approach to Model Interpreter
  Evolution, 4th OOPSLA Workshop on
  Domain-Specific Modeling, Vancouver, BC, Canada,
  October 2004, pp. 121-129.
• Yuehua Lin, Jing Zhang, and Jeff Gray, Model
  Comparison A Key Challenge for Transformation
  Testing and Version Control in Model Driven
  Software Development, OOPSLA Workshop on Best
  Practices for Model-Driven Software Development,
  Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 2004.
• Jing Zhang and Jeff Gray, Legacy System
  Evolution through Model-Driven Program
  Transformation, 8th IEEE International
  Enterprise Distributed Object Computing
  Conference (EDOC 2004) Workshop on Model-Driven
  Evolution of Legacy Systems (MELS), Monterey, CA,
  September 2004.
• Jeff Gray, Yuehua Lin, and Jing Zhang, Aspect
  Model Weavers Levels of Supported Independence,
  Middleware 2003 Workshop on Model-driven
  Approaches to Middleware Applications
  Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2003.

66

Thank You !!
Questions ??
Publication, Software and Video demos available
at http//www.cis.uab.edu/gray/Research/C-SAW/
67
Backup
68
Evolution Scenario 1 Application Evolution
Application Evolution

• Changes are made to the domain models
• Model interpretation re-synthesizes the whole
  application system

69
Evolution Scenario 2 Environment Evolution
Environment Evolution

• Changes are made to the metamodel
• Model migration to support domain model evolution
  

70
Comparison of DSM to Programming Language and
Database Definition