Model Finding in the EMF Ecosystem

By: Jesús Sánchez Cuadrado, Martin Gogolla

Abstract

The EMF framework is the main meta-modelling framework used nowadays. It has a rich ecosystem of plug-ins and tools built with and for it, including the option of enriching meta-models with OCL constraints. However, the EMF ecosystem lacks usable model finding approaches. Given a meta-model, a model finder automatically searches for models that satisfy a given set of formulas (e.g., OCL constraints). This feature can be used for a number of purposes, including model verification and model synthesis. In this paper, we present an approach to support model finding in the EMF ecosystem that is designed to realize several scenarios including model consistency, example generation, partial solution completion and scrolling. Moreover, it allows several OCL variants to be plugged-in via an intermediate representation. This approach has been realized in a tool called EFinder. We have assessed the usability of the approach by implementing three advanced application scenarios and evaluated its verification capabilities by analyzing OCL constraints from an external OCL dataset containing about 300 valid EMF/OCL specifications. Our model finder is able to process about 65% of these EMF/OCL models.

Keywords

Model, Meta-model, EMF model, Model validation and verification, Constraint solving, Model finding

Cite as:

Jesús Sánchez Cuadrado, Martin Gogolla, “Model Finding in the EMF Ecosystem”, Journal of Object Technology, Volume 19, no. 2 (July 2020), pp. 10:1-21, doi:10.5381/jot.2020.19.2.a10.

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