A Petri Net based Debugging Environment for QVT Relations
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Buchtitel:
Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE 2009), IEEE, pp. 1-12, 2009
Original Kurzfassung:
Abstract—In the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA)
paradigm the Query/View/Transformation (QVT) standard
plays a vital role for model transformations. Especially the
high-level declarative QVT Relations language, however, has
not yet gained widespread use in practice. This is not least due
to missing tool support in general and inadequate debugging
support in particular. Transformation engines interpreting
QVT Relations operate on a low level of abstraction, hide
the operational semantics of a transformation and scatter
metamodels, models, QVT code, and trace information across
different artifacts.
We therefore propose a model-based debugger representing
QVT Relations on bases of TROPIC, a model transformation
language utilizing a variant of Colored Petri Nets (CPNs). As
a prerequisite for convenient debugging, TROPIC provides a
homogeneous view on all artifacts of a transformation on basis
of a single formalism. Besides that, this formalism also provides
a runtime model, thus making the afore hidden operational
semantics of the transformation explicit. Using an explicit
runtime model allows to employ model-based techniques for
debugging, e.g., using the Object Constraint Language (OCL)
for simply defining breakpoints and querying the execution
state of a transformation.