Modular artifact synthesis from domain-specific models

Abstract

Domain-specific modelling reduces the gap between problem domain and solution domain. It supports modelling using constructs familiar to experts of a specific domain. Domain-specific models (DSms) are (semi)automatically transformed to various lower-level artifacts, including configuration files, documentation and executable programs. Although various aspects of model-driven development have been investigated, such as model versioning, debugging and transformation, relatively not much attention has been paid to formalise how artifacts are synthesised from DSms. State-of-the-art approaches rely on ad hoc coded generators that essentially use modelling tool APIs to programmatically iterate through internal representations of DSm entities to produce target-platform artifacts. In this work, we propose a more structured approach to artifact generation, where layered model transformations are used to modularly isolate, compile and re-combine various concerns within DSms, while maintaining traceability links between corresponding constructs at different levels of abstraction. We study and demonstrate how our approach simplifies addressing non-functional requirements (e.g., timing and resource utilisation constraints) of modern embedded systems. This is achieved through the modular synthesis of performance models from DSms. We illustrate our work by means of the synthesis of fully functional Google Android applications, performance predictions, simulations and performance measurement facilities from DSms of mobile phone applications.