Model-Driven Software Engineering (MDSE) encompasses traditional areas of both Language Design and Software Engineering (language definition and tooling, manipulation of programs and models, refinement of specifications into lower-level abstractions) following a unified conceptual and technical framework (metamodeling and declarative model transformations).

Solving industrially relevant problems around MDSE tooling requires making progress in several areas:

• applying techniques to improve the precision of metamodel-based language specifications, as languages relevant for enterprise software systems (JPQL, BPEL) are being standardized using the metamodeling approach
• methodologies to automate the certification of transformation algorithms common in the model-driven approach
• efficient evaluation of OCL invariants (e.g., using incrementalization) and transaction-based manipulation of metamodel instances (software repositories, shared-memory transactions)

As MDSE techniques are applied to development processes of ever increasing complexity, additional demands are placed on the infrastructure supporting those processes. The practical part of the my PhD involves the construction of software tools that realize techniques and methodologies to advance the state of the art by solving the problems identified above.

Subprojects:

• Model-Checking of Model Transformation Algorithms.

• OCL Tools: With the availability of infrastructural support for OCL (Object Constraint Language) provided by Eclipse OCL, the next step consists in simplifying the authoring of OCL specifications with feature-rich tools, as part of the more general task of model authoring. This subproject comprises: (a) an OCL to Java compiler, and (b) a text editor for OCL, providing an infrastructure for refactoring OCL expressions, detecting bad smells, and analyzing and optimizing OCL expressions. These goals fall under the general umbrella of model compilers, essential elements of Model-Driven Software Engineering.
• Integrated Development Environments for custom Domain Specific Languages (DSLs).

PhD candidate: Miguel Garcia, being supervised by Prof. Dr. Ralf Möller.

Research Assistant: A. Jibran Shidqie

• Garcia M., Prithiviraj R.
  Rethinking the Architecture of O/R Mapping for EMF in terms of LINQ
  Abstract   PDF   Submitted to Eclipse Modeling Symposium at Eclipse Summit Europe 2008
• Garcia M.
  Automating the embedding of Domain Specific Languages in Eclipse JDT
  BibTeX   Eclipse Technical Article
  
• Garcia M.
  Formalization of QVT-Relations: OCL-based Static Semantics and Alloy-based Validation
  Abstract   Slides   PDF   BibTeX   MDSD Today 2008, Elmshorn, Germany
• Garcia M., Möller R.
  Incremental evaluation of OCL invariants in the Essential MOF object model
  Abstract   Slides   PDF   BibTeX   In Proceedings of Modellierung 2008, Berlin, Germany.
• Garcia M., Shidqie, A. J.
  OCL Tools: Status and Perspectives
  PDF   Submitted
• Garcia M.
  Efficient Integrity Checking for Essential MOF + OCL in Software Repositories
  Abstract   PDF   BibTeX   Journal of Object Technology, vol. 7, no. 6, July-August 2008, pp. 101–119.
• Garcia M., Shidqie, A. J.
  OCL Compiler for EMF
  PDF   BibTeX   Eclipse Modeling Symposium, co-located with Eclipse Summit Europe 2007
• Garcia M.
  Rules for Type-checking of Parametric Polymorphism in EMF Generics
  PDF   BibTeX   First Workshop MDSD Today, co-located with SE 2007
• Garcia M., Möller R.
  Certification of Transformations Algorithms in Model-Driven Software Development
  Slides   PDF   BibTeX   Software Engineering 2007, Hamburg, Germany
• Garcia, M.
  How to process OCL Abstract Syntax Trees
  BibTeX   Eclipse Technical Article
  
• Garcia, M.
  Formalizing the well-formedness rules of EJB3QL in UML + OCL
  PDF   BibTeX   Proceedings   In: ATEM 2006, co-located with MoDELS / UML 2006

• Garcia M., Sentosa P.
  Generation of Eclipse-based IDEs for Custom DSLs.
  Technical report, Institute for Software Systems (STS), Hamburg University of Technology, Germany, September 2007.
  PDF   BibTeX