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This chapter steps back from specific self-organisational architectural solutions to consider what self-organisation means in the context of complex systems. Drawing on insights in complexity and self-organisation, the chapter explores how the natural propensity of complex systems (such as the mammalian immune system) to self-organise could be exploited as a mechanism for adaptation in complex computer architectures. Drawing on experience of immune-inspired fault-tolerant swarm robotics, the chapter speculates on how complex systems such as global information systems could adopt self-organised survivability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) raises specific challenges related to the scale and complexity of the business processes that must be supported. Techniques for managing the challenges of scale and complexity are often based on modelling, and are targeted at different parts of the EIS development process. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a number of goal-oriented analysis approaches in the domain of EIS, based on an example EIS for health care. The paper concludes that existing approaches lack process guidance and, in particular, guidance on the evaluation of the results of goal analysis. We present an analysis of the problem of evaluation, and propose a scenario-based approach to evaluate the results of goal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-Driven Engineering tasks, such as simulation or transformation, often cannot be carried out directly on the models at hand; models often need to be decorated with additional information, and this information is in some cases not accounted for by existing metamodels. Moreover, engineers often need to experiment with alternative and complementary types of model decorations, particularly when carrying out more exploratory styles of development. Heavyweight approaches to decoration are not convenient in such situations. In this paper we demonstrate the limitations of existing model decoration mechanisms and tools, and present a novel approach that enables engineers to capture decoration information in the form of separate interchangeable models. The approach allows engineers to transparently and programmatically navigate decorations as if they were embedded in the decorated model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their recent book, Mens and Demeyer state that Model-Driven Engineering introduces additional challenges for controlling and managing software evolution. Today, tools exist for generating model editors and for managing models with transformation, validation, merging and weaving. There is limited support, however, for model migration - a development activity in which instance models are updated in response to metamodel evolution. In this paper, we describe Epsilon Flock, a model-to-model transformation language tailored for model migration that contributes a novel algorithm for relating source and target model elements. To demonstrate its conciseness, we compare Flock to other approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling languages and thus their metamodels are subject to change. When a metamodel evolves, existing models may no longer conform to the evolved metamodel. To avoid rebuilding them from scratch, existing models must be migrated to conform to the evolved metamodel. Manually migrating existing models is tedious and error-prone. To alleviate this, several tools have been proposed to build a migration strategy that automates the migration of existing models. Little is known about the advantages and disadvantages of the tools in different situations. In this paper, we thus compare a representative sample of migration tools – AML, COPE, Ecore2Ecore and Epsilon Flock – using common migration examples. The criteria used in the comparison aim to support users in selecting the most appropriate tool for their situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EMF and GMF are powerful frameworks for implementing tool support for modelling languages in Eclipse. However, with power comes complexity; implementing a graphical editor for a modelling language using EMF and GMF requires developers to hand craft and maintain several low-level interconnected models through a loosely-guided, labour-intensive and error-prone process. In this paper we demonstrate how the application of model transformation techniques can help with taming the complexity of GMF and EMF and deliver significant productivity, quality, and maintainability benefits. We also present EuGENia, an open-source tool that implements the proposed approach, illustrate its functionality through an example, and report on the community΄s response to the tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A change to a software development artefact, such as source code or documentation, can affect the integrity of others. Many contemporary software development environments provide tools that automatically manage (detect, report and reconcile) integrity. For instance, incremental background compilation can reconcile object code with changing source code and report calls to a method that are inconsistent with its definition. Although models are increasingly first-class citizens in software development, contemporary development environments are less able to automatically detect, manage and reconcile the integrity of models than the integrity of other types of artefact. In this paper, we discuss the scalability and efficiency problems faced when managing model integrity for two categories of change that occur in MDE. We present a framework to support the incremental management of model integrity, evaluating the efficiency of the proposed approach atop Eclipse and EMF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scalability is particularly important for the adoption of Model Driven Engineering (MDE) in an industrial context. The current focus of research in MDE is on declarative languages for model management, and scalable mechanisms for persisting models (e.g., using databases). In this paper we claim that, instead, modularity and encapsulation in modelling languages should be the main focus. We justify this claim by demonstrating how these two principles apply to a related domain – code development – where the issue of scalability has been addressed to a much greater extent than in MDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Object Constraint Language (OCL) can be used to capture structural constraints in the context of the abstract syntax of modelling languages (metamodels) defined in the MOF metamodelling architecture. While the expression language of OCL has been revised and updated a number of times since its inception, the constructs used for capturing constraints (invariants) have remained unchanged. In this paper we argue that the abstract and concrete syntax of OCL invariants should also be updated to address a number of shortcomings and render OCL more usable in a contemporary modelling environment. To support our arguments we have implemented the proposed extensions in the prototype Epsilon Validation Language (EVL). To demonstrate the benefits delivered, we present and discuss a concrete example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of our work on the formal analysis of object-oriented models, we turn to systems where many autonomous individuals interact to give rise to complex collective behaviour. We adapt our ZOO [1,2] structuring and apply it to a case study based on a published model of part of the immune system [3]. The formalisation calls for a bottom-up solution with no central control over individual units, and includes an approach to represent feedback channels enabling broadcast communication between individuals and across levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Support for automated model transformation is essential for realizing a Model Driven Development (MDD) process. However, model transformation is only one of the many tools in a model engineering toolkit. To apply MDD in the large, automated support for a number of additional tasks such as model comparison, merging, validation and model-to-text transformation, is essential. While a number of successful model transformation languages have been currently proposed, the majority of them have been developed in isolation and as a result, they face consistency and integration difficulties with languages that support other model management tasks. We present the Epsilon Transformation Language (ETL), a hybrid model transformation language that has been developed atop the infrastructure provided by the Epsilon model management platform. By building atop Epsilon, ETL is seamlessly integrated with a number of other task-specific languages to help to realize composite model management workflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce the concept of neutral emergence (defined by analogy to an information theoretic view of neutral evolution), and discuss how it might be used in the engineering of robust emergent systems. We describe preliminary results from an application to coarse graining of cellular automata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of Model Engineering, work has focused on operations such as model validation and model transformation. By contrast, other model management operations of significant importance remain underdeveloped. One of the least elaborated operations is model merging. In this paper we discuss the special requirements of model merging and introduce the Epsilon Merging Language (EML), a rule-based language, with tool support, for merging models of diverse metamodels and technologies. Moreover, we identify special cases of model merging that are of particular interest and provide a working example through which we demonstrate the practicality and usefulness of the proposed language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of Model Engineering, work has focused on operations such as model validation and model transformation. By contrast, other model management operations of significant importance remain underdeveloped. One of the least elaborated operations is model merging. In this paper we discuss the special requirements of model merging and introduce the Epsilon Merging Language (EML), a rule-based language, with tool support, for merging models of diverse metamodels and technologies. Moreover, we identify special cases of model merging that are of particular interest and provide a working example through which we demonstrate the practicality and usefulness of the proposed language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design patterns are usually described in terms of instances. Templates describe sentences of some language with a particular form, generate sentences upon instantiation, and can be used to describe those commonly occurring structures that make a pattern. This paper presents FTL, a language to express templates, and an approach to proof with templates. This enables reuse at the level of formal modelling and verification: patterns of models are captured once and their structure is explored for proof, so that patterns instances can be generated mechanically and proved results related with the pattern can be reused in any context. The paper uses templates to capture the Z promotion pattern and metaproof to prove properties of Z promotion. The proved properties are applicable directly to Z promotions built by template instantiation. Keywords: patterns, templates, proof, Z, formal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Code generation automatically produces executable code by software. Model-driven code generation is currently the most flexible and scalable generative technique, but there are many complaints about the complexity it introduces into the development process, and the design decisions imposed on the code. Here, an agile code-oriented model-driven generative methodology is outlined that reduces complexity and allows the engineer to define the exact form of the produced code and embrace change in the requirements in an automated manner. A flexible tool, ECGF, supports this methodology, and a case study in rapid generation of large-scale HTML documents is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]