Model Design using Hierarchical Web-Based Libraries

1
Model Design using Hierarchical Web-Based
Libraries

• F. Bernardi
• Pr. J.F. Santucci
• bernardi, santucci_at_univ-corse.fr

University of Corsica SPE Laboratory UMR CNRS 6134
2
Studied Problem

• Objective of this work to build a generic models
  library
• Interests
• Reusability of models seen as modeling components
• Ease of new models building
• Ease of new models validation
• Main Requirements
• Ease of use
• Inheritance between models management
• Abstraction Hierarchy between models management
• Remote access capacity

3
Summary

• Basic Notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

4
Summary

• Basic Notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

5
Basic Notions of MS

• Three complementary concepts
• The Multi-Views concept
• Allows a gradual complexity introduction
• Each model of these views represents a particular
  part of the global system
• Structural view, behavioral view, system view,
• The description hierarchy
• Allows a recursive subsystems hiding

6
Basic Notions of MS

• The abstraction hierarchy
• General problem for modeling choosing a good
  level of details
• Abstraction level
• Determines the amount of informations contained
  in a model
• Allows taking efficiently into account the
  relevant informations

7
Basic Notions of MS

• The abstraction hierarchy

8
Summary

• Basic Notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

9
Basics of the Models Library

• Software Component
• Software object presenting well-defined
  interfaces
• Can be personified
• Reusable in different contexts
• Modeling Component
• Software component
• Can be described following different abstraction
  levels
• Can be  context-in  or  context-out 

10
Basics of the Models Library

• Context-in and Context-out models notions
• Context-out model
• Abstraction of a model
• Presents a structure allowing it to be stored in
  a library
• Context-in model
• Context-out model extracted from its library
• Directly reusable in the environment

11
Basics of the Models Library

• Models Library Object-Oriented architecture
  allowing to store and retrieve persistent
  context-out models
• Structuration mainly based on two paradigms
• Application domains
• Inheritance hierarchy
• Provides the abstraction hierarchy management

12
Basics of the Models Library

• Core of the architecture The Storage Engine
• Build on the model of an Object-Oriented
  Database Management System
• Uses XML to describe and store models
• Modular and extensible based on the notion of
  service
• Can use six different element types

13
Basics of the Models Library

• Six elements able to be stored
• Library root object
• Domains DEVS Simulation, VHDL Descriptions,
• Application Domains Science part of the models
• Classification Intermediate Models (CIM) allow a
  classification hierarchy between models
• Inheritance Intermediate Models (IIM) storage
  object allowing the share of properties
• Model File storage object (context-out model)

14
Basics of the Models Library

• UML Diagram Links Between Elements

15
Basics of the Models Library

• Service set of functions for the structuring,
  the management or the maintenance of a library
• Five Main Services
• Name Service
• Classification Service
• Abstraction Hierarchy Service
• Inheritance Service
• Persistence Service

16
Basics of the Models Library

• Abstraction Service
• Based on an Abstraction Matrix
• Manage relative abstraction levels between
  context-out models
• Inheritance Service
• Not performed directly on context-in models
• Applied on context-out models
• Performed through XML tags

17
Basics of the Models Library

• XML-based Persistence Service
• Context-in to context-out

• Context-out to context-in

18
Summary

• Basic Notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

19
Web-Based Architecture

• Set of tools allowing a design team to work on
  the same models stored on a server
• Basic idea two possibilities offered for
  accessing the storage engine
• Using a Web browser
• Directly from the MS environment

20
Web-Based Architecture

• First possibility simple management,
  documentation and/or consultation
• Second possibility uses APIs for the MS
  environment

Web Browser
Network
Application Server
Storage Engine
Server
Network
Application Server
Modeling and Simulation
Storage Engine
Environment
Server
21
Web-Based Architecture

• Implementation Servlets/Applets/Java Web Start
• Technological Choices
• Servlets
• Persistents
• Fasts
• Platform-independents
• Extensible
• Applets
• Very well known
• Ease of use
• Java Web Start
• Fast
• Always up to date

22
Summary

• Basic Notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

23
Screenshots
24
Screenshots
25
Summary

• Basic notions of MS
• Basics of the Models Library
• Web-Based Architecture
• Screenshots
• Conclusion and Perspectives

26
Conclusion and Perspectives

• Main Points and Originalities
• Inheritance Links
• Abstraction Links
• Traduction of DEVS models in XML
• Validation using the JDEVS environment
• Environmental Studies
• CORBA Architecture Study
• Perspectives
• Management of other modeling formalisms
• Improvement of the performances of the storage
  engine
• Study of the distribution of storage engines on
  a network