Tracing Properties of UML and OCL Models with Maude

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to analyze UML and OCL models by translating them into Maude, enabling state exploration and understanding of system properties through rewrite logic.

Contribution

It introduces a translation approach from UML/OCL to Maude to facilitate formal analysis and state search capabilities for system models.

Findings

Enables formal analysis of UML/OCL models using Maude

Supports exploration of reachable system states

Assists developers in understanding system constraints

Abstract

The starting point of this paper is a system described in form of a UML class diagram where system states are characterized by OCL invariants and system transitions are defined by OCL pre- and postconditions. The aim of our approach is to assist the developer in learning about the consequences of the described system states and transitions and about the formal implications of the properties that are explicitly given. We propose to draw conclusions about the stated constraints by translating the UML and OCL model into the algebraic specification language and system Maude, which is based on rewrite logic. We will concentrate in this paper on employing Maude's capabilities for state search. Maude's state search offers the possibility to describe a start configuration of the system and then explore all configurations reachable by rewriting. The search can be adjusted by formulating requirements for the allowed states and the allowed transitions.