Generating Domain-Specific Transformation Languages for Component & Connector Architecture Descriptions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a systematic framework for deriving domain-specific transformation languages from architecture description language grammars, improving model transformation clarity and maintainability in component-based software engineering.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel framework to automatically generate domain-specific transformation languages tailored to architecture description languages, enhancing model transformation expressiveness and comprehensibility.

Findings

Framework successfully derives DSTLs from C&C language grammars.

Generated DSTLs enable concise, understandable model transformations.

Improves maintainability and comprehension of model transformations for ADL experts.

Abstract

Component-based software engineering (CBSE) decomposes complex systems into reusable components. Model-driven engineering (MDE) aims to abstract from complexities by lifting abstract models to primary development artifacts. Component and connector architecture description languages (ADLs) combine CBSE and MDE to describe software systems as hierarchies of component models. Using models as development artifacts is accompanied with the need to evolve, maintain and refactor those models, which can be achieved by model transformations. Domain-specific transformation languages (DSTLs) are tailored to a specific modeling language as the modeling language's concrete syntax is used to describe transformations. To automate the development of DSTLs for ADLs, we present a framework to systematically derive such languages from domain-specific C&C language grammars. These DSTLs enable to describe such model transformations concisely in vocabulary of the underlying ADL. These domain-specific transformations are better comprehensible to ADL experts than generic transformations.