Authors:
Philipp Niemann
1
;
Nils Przigoda
2
;
Robert Wille
3
and
Rolf Drechsler
4
Affiliations:
1
DFKI GmbH, Germany
;
2
Siemens AG, Germany
;
3
DFKI GmbH and Johannes Kepler University Linz, Germany
;
4
DFKI GmbH and University of Bremen, Germany
Keyword(s):
UML/OCL, Operation Contracts, Frame Conditions, Validation and Verification.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Constraint Modeling and Languages
;
Languages, Tools and Architectures
;
Model-Driven Software Development
;
Reasoning about Models
;
Software Engineering
Abstract:
In behavioral modeling using UML/OCL, operation contracts defined by pre- and postconditions describe
the effects on model elements (such as attributes, links, etc.) that are enforced by an operation. However,
it is usually not clearly stated which model elements can be affected and which shall not, although this information
is essential in order to obtain a comprehensive description. A promising solution to this so-called
frame problem is to define additional frame conditions. However, properly defining frame conditions which
complete the model description in the intended way is a non-trivial, tedious and error-prone task. While for
UML/OCL models in general, methods for validation and verification are available, no analysis methods for
frame conditions exist so far that could support the designer in this process. In this work, we close this gap
and propose a set of primary analysis objectives (namely consistency, equivalence, and independence) that
provide substantial info
rmation about the correctness and adequateness of given frame conditions. Moreover,
we formalize these objectives as to be able to conduct the corresponding analyses in an automatic fashion
using the deductive power of established approaches for model validation and verification. Finally, we discuss
how the resulting methodology can actually be applied and demonstrate its potential for elaborated analyses
of frame conditions.
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