Using software product lines to manage model families in model-driven engineering

Abstract

The relationship between Software Product Lines (SPL) and Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) is not new in the literature. It mainly focuses on the use of Domain-Specific Languages to specify application families, rather than using the more classic feature models. However, more recent works propose another important synergy: the use of feature models to specify model families. In this paper we propose a Domain-Specific Transformation Language (DSTL) that helps in the creation of SPLs to manage model families. Moreover, we show the benefits coming from taking a new approach to DSTL development. In this approach, DSTL instances are not compiled into source code but transformed onto general-purpose transformation languages in order to be executed using already existent transformation engines.