DPF Workbench: A Diagrammatic Multi-Layer Domain Specific (Meta-)Modelling Environment

Abstract

This paper presents the DPFWorkbench, a diagrammatic tool for domain specific modelling. The tool is an implementation of the basic ideas from the Diagram Predicate Framework (DPF), which provides a graph based formalisation of (meta)modelling and model transformations. The DPFWorkbench consists of a specification editor and a signature editor and offers fully diagrammatic specification of domain-specific modelling languages. The specification editor supports development of metamodelling hierarchies with an arbitrary number of metalevels; that is, each model can be used as a metamodel for the level below. The workbench also facilitates the automatic generation of domain-specific specification editors out of these metamodels. Furthermore, the conformance relations between adjacent metalevels are dynamically checked by the use of typing morphisms and constraint validators. The signature editor is a new component that extends the DPF Workbench with functionality for dynamic definition of predicates. The syntax of the predicates are defined by a shape graph and a graphical icon, and their semantics are defined by validators. Those predicates are used to add constrains on the underlying graph. The features of the DPF Workbench are illustrated by a running example presenting a metamodelling hierarchy for workflow modelling in the health care domain.