Domain-specific Design Patterns Research Articles

Mining Domain-Specific Design Patterns: A Case Study †

Domain-specific design patterns provide developers with proven solutions to common design problems that arise, particularly in a target application domain, facilitating them to produce quality designs in the domain contexts. However, research in this area is not mature and there are no techniques to support their detection. Towards this end, we propose a methodology which, when applied on a collection of websites in a specific domain, facilitates the automated identification of domain-specific design patterns. The methodology automatically extracts the conceptual models of the websites, which are subsequently analyzed in terms of all of the reusable design fragments used in them for supporting common domain functionalities. At the conceptual level, we consider these fragments as recurrent patterns consisting of a configuration of front-end interface components that interrelate each other and interact with end-users to support certain functionality. By performing a pattern-based analysis of the models, we locate the occurrences of all the recurrent patterns in the various website designs which are then evaluated towards their consistent use. The detected patterns can be used as building blocks in future designs, assisting developers to produce consistent and quality designs in the target domain. To support our case, we present a case study for the educational domain.

A new method for constructing and reusing domain specific design patterns: Application to RT domain

Domain specific design patterns capture domain knowledge and provide solutions of non trivial design problems in a specific domain. Their application improves considerably the quality of software design. In order to benefit from these advantages and to reinforce the application of these patterns, we provide, in this paper, new processes and tools for the development and the instantiation of domain specific design patterns, especially those intended for real-time domain.Initially, we propose a pattern development process that guides pattern developers in the construction of patterns. The proposed process defines unification rules that apply a set of comparison criteria on various applications in the pattern domain. This process is illustrated through the design of the controller pattern. Moreover, we propose a process guiding the application designers in pattern instantiation based on model transformation. Finally, the proposed RT patterns and their development process are evaluated by calculating quality metrics and comparing the applications designed with our RT patterns and others developed by experts without the use of our patterns.

A software engineering perspective on environmental modeling framework design: The Object Modeling System

The environmental modeling community has historically been concerned with the proliferation of models and the effort associated with collective model development tasks (e.g., code generation, data transformation, etc.). Environmental modeling frameworks (EMFs) have been developed to address this problem, but much work remains before EMFs are adopted as mainstream modeling tools. Environmental model development requires both scientific understanding of environmental phenomena and software developer proficiency. EMFs support the modeling process through streamlining model code development, allowing seamless access to data, and supporting data analysis and visualization. EMFs also support aggregation of model components into functional units, component interaction and communication, temporal-spatial stepping, scaling of spatial data, multi-threading/multi-processor support, and cross-language interoperability. Some EMFs additionally focus on high-performance computing and are tailored for particular modeling domains such as ecosystem, socio-economic, or climate change research. The Object Modeling System Version 3 (OMS3) EMF employs new advances in software framework design to better support the environmental model development process. This paper discusses key EMF design goals/constraints and addresses software engineering aspects that have made OMS3 framework development efficacious and its application practical, as demonstrated by leveraging software engineering efforts outside of the modeling community and lessons learned from over a decade of EMF development. Software engineering approaches employed in OMS3 are highlighted including a non-invasive lightweight framework design supporting component-based model development, use of implicit parallelism in system design, use of domain specific language design patterns, and cloud-based support for computational scalability. The key advancements in EMF design presented herein may be applicable and beneficial for other EMF developers seeking to better support environmental model development through improved framework design.

Supporting domain-specific model patterns with metamodeling

Metamodeling is a widely applied technique in the field of graphical languages to create highly configurable modeling environments. These environments support the rapid development of domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs). Design patterns are efficient solutions for recurring problems. With the proliferation of DSMLs, there is a need for domain-specific design patterns to offer solutions to problems recurring in different domains. The aim of this paper is to provide theoretical and practical foundations to support domain-specific model patterns in metamodeling environments. In order to support the treatment of premature model parts, we weaken the instantiation relationship. We provide constructs relaxing the instantiation rules, and we show that these constructs are appropriate and sufficient to express patterns. We provide the necessary modifications in metamodeling tools for supporting patterns. With the contributed results, a well-founded domain-specific model pattern support can be realized in metamodeling tools.

A UML-based language for specifying domain-specific patterns

Cost-effective development of large computer-based systems can be realized through systematic reuse of domain-specific design experience. Such experience can be captured by domain-specific design patterns, that is, patterns specifying design solutions for well-defined families of applications. This paper presents a pattern specification notation called the Role-Based Metamodeling Language (RBML) and shows how it can be used to express domain-specific patterns. An RBML pattern defines a domain-specific sub-language of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Developers can use the sub-language to create UML diagrams for applications in the domain addressed by the pattern. An RBML pattern characterizing checkin–checkout (CICO) applications is presented. Applications in the CICO domain manage checking in and out of items. Examples of such applications are car rental, library, and video rental systems. The paper also describes how a UML model of a library system can be obtained from the RBML CICO pattern.