Research On Architecture Meta-model And Model Transformation Methodology In Domain Software Development

The increasing development of military and scientific domain, especially in the areas such as aviation and spaceflight, fighting, command and control etc make it more and more dependent on computer software with high efficiency, reliability and complexity. However, traditional development methods can not be able to guarantee to create products with such quality and performance in planned time, which make it necessary to find an applicable and suitable method to satisfy the need of these domains. Some researchers proposed a proposal which uses architecture to extract and summarize common characteristics of specific domain, design the corresponding domain-specific architecture style. In the proposal, architecture style is used to reuse domain development experiences and software artifacts. This method can simplify the design process, reduce development intensity, improve the rational design, and then increase system reliability and understandability. Some others adopt the model-driven methodology using the model as the basic element of system design and development. In this method, model is divided into different abstract levels. As the driving force, an automated model transformation process is used to promote development. This development methodology can effectively ensure consistency and traceability of different artifacts. However, because most researches still remain in the theoretical study stage and there are some defects existing in the method itself, it's difficult to apply in practice.Through the analysis of a number of domains, it could find that usually there are certain similar development experience pattern, development results and mature architectures in the specific domain. According to these characters, this thesis studies the architecture meta-model and model transformation of domain software development and then puts forward architecture meta-model and model transformation based domain software development methodology by combining the architecture and the model-driven methodology. In order to make the development method applicable, the thesis also pays great attention to some related key technologies including the integration of architecture and MDA, the meta-model of architecture, transformation from requirement to architecture model and then to the implementation. The main research contents and contribution of the thesis list as follows in detail:1. Research on architecture meta-model and model transformation based domain software development methodology. According to the requirement of military domain, the thesis discusses the characteristics of architecture and model driven technology, analyzes the property, organization and principle of them, combines the two method together and then puts forward a architecture meta-model and model transformation based domain software development method, aiming to solve current inability in software development by taking advantages and complementing the shortcomings of each other. After analyzing and trying various combination modes of integrating architecture and MDA, this thesis chooses the orthogonal combination mode to integrate them. As the basic element, architecture is used to reuse the software products of prophase and used, while automated model transformation is used to promote development by using model-driven methodology.2. Research on the MOF-based architecture meta-model construction. In order to use a normative and unified notation to model the architecture, this thesis constructs architecture meta-model on the basis of MOF standard to describe the architecture model. Architecture meta-model includes abstract syntax, concrete syntax and semantics ; they can be used to describe static structure and dynamic behavior. Architecture meta-model will be the foundation of the whole development.3. Research on transformation method from requirement model to architecture model. The transformation from requirement model to architecture model is the first step of model transformation; it will cause a great impact on the follow-ups. In order to ensure consistency and convenience of transformation, this thesis introduces the architectural concepts into requirement phase and proposes an architecture-based requirement analysis and requirement description. Then, the method specifies a QVT-based transformation rules using mapping and constraint infection to transform the requirement model to architecture model, and finally the method gives the artifact formalism of transformed architecture model.4. Research on transformation method from architecture model to system implementation. The ultimate goal of model-driven methodology is to get system implementation through automated model transformation. According to the domain characteristics, this thesis raises a predication and action-dependence based prototype system generation method to achieve the transformation from architecture model to system implementation. The transformation uses the predicate logic as a mathematical basis, uses the formal specification of model to organize the basic information; uses the automated constraint extraction to get the implicit information. And then the method encapsulates the two kinds of information to a number of components. At last the prototype system can be generated by component composition and code injection using components.The creative points in the thesis include:1. The orthogonal combinations mode of integrating architecture and MDA and architecture meta-model and model transformation based domain software development methodology. In order to integrate architecture and MDA, the thesis abstracts the architecture model to a new abstract level and puts it to the orthogonal position with MDA, then builds the mapping relations between their meta-model to inject the architecture concept into every abstract levels of MDA. On this basis, the thesis proposes architecture meta-model and model transformation based domain software development methodology. The development methodology is based on architecture and uses model transformation as the driving force. Architecture meta-model is constructed on the basis of MOF standard as a normative notation used to describe architecture model. It helps to understand the architecture and facilitates the conversion. Architecture is an efficient reusable mean which can avoids duplication by reusing products and guides the development by reusing experience in domain software development. Transformations connect two contiguous development phase smoothly and make it possible to trace artifact changes in one phase and transformed them to next phase consistently.2. Put forward architecture-based requirement analysis and description method. In the traditional point of view, architecture is just the concept in the solution space; it hinders the model transformation and the architecture application in the lifecycle. The method introduces the architectural concept of component and connector into requirement analysis phase, divides the requirement model into function node and organization node respectively and then gives the formal rule set to identify them. And then the method organizes the architectural concept in requirement phase in the unit of scenario and gives an architecture based requirement description mode. The method brings some advantages that the requirement phase and the design phase using the same concept and principle, so transformation between two kinds of model are relative straightforward and easy to realize.3. Propose a QVT-based constraint infection model transformation method from the requirement model to architecture model. In essence, the transformation from requirement model to architecture model is the transformation from CIM to PIM; however this kind of transformation has been relatively little attention. The thesis proposes a QVT-based transformation rules using mapping and constraint infection to transform the requirement model to architecture model. The transformation proceed is performed in the unit of scenario by using incremental iterative manner. Firstly, functional node is transformed to architecture model, and then organizational node is injected in the corresponding architecture model. By this way, all of the information in the requirement model can be transformed into architecture model.4. Advance predication and action-dependence based prototype system generation method. The transformation from model to implementation is the common focus of architecture researches and model driven researches, according to the domain demand the thesis advances a predication and action-dependence based prototype system generation method following the equivalent information principle. The method uses formal specifications of model to organize basic information and uses predication and action-dependence based constraint extraction to get implicit information. And then the method encapsulates the information in components with different granularity. At last the prototype system can be generated by component composition which is implemented by model weaving.Summary,The thesis systematically researches on the architecture meta-model and the model transformations in the domain software development, and proposes an architecture meta-model based domain software development methodology using model transformations. The methodology shows an effective way for accumulating experience and reusing software products in specific domain and contributes on the practice of the model driven method, so it has theoretical and practical value.