Abstraction in model-driven engineering

模型驱动工程中的抽象

• 批准号: 240537-2010
• 负责人: Day, Nancy
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=508190
• 关键词: Abstraction; model; driven; engineering

Formal methods (FM) can reveal critical logical errors in computer-based systems. Companies, such as Intel, Microsoft, and Rockwell Collins, and producers of safety-critical systems, such as NASA, are investigating FM to find bugs prior to product deployment. FM evaluate system behaviour symbolically and exhaustively. With these improved capabilities to evaluate software quality, we can (1) build systems with increased design complexity for exciting applications, such as pilotless aircraft; (2) rely on software for critical tasks in mission-critical systems, such as air traffic control and medical equipment; and (3) reduce development and maintenence costs because errors discovered earlier in the design cycle are cheaper to correct. Model-driven engineering (MDE) is an emerging and popular software engineering process in which downstream development artifacts (such as code) are derived directly from a model of a software-based system. FM give a precise meaning to these models, which in turn enables the analysis of these models for purposes beyond just derivation of code. A major challenge in the application of FM for MDE is the state space explosion problem -- the fact that most systems remain too big to explore exhaustively even a finite set of behaviours despite the rapid increase in computing capacity. MDE would benefit from the ability to create more abstract models to enable its use from the beginning of the system development process. The goal of this research is to investigate whether three types of abstractions users create during modelling can be exploited to extend the size of the state space we can explore in formal analysis of abstract models. The three types of abstractions considered are: language abstractions (those provided by high-level modelling languages), structural abstractions (such as definitions), and evolutionary abstractions (placeholders for incomplete information). As a result of this research, it will be possible for formal abstract models to be used earlier in the MDE development process, and play an active, integrated role throughout the evolution process.

形式化方法（Formal Methods，FM）可以揭示基于计算机的系统中的关键逻辑错误。 英特尔、微软和罗克韦尔柯林斯等公司，以及NASA等安全关键系统的生产商，都在研究FM，以便在产品部署之前找到漏洞。 FM象征性地、详尽地评估系统行为。 有了这些改进的评估软件质量的能力，我们可以（1）为令人兴奋的应用（如无人驾驶飞机）构建具有更高设计复杂性的系统;（2）在关键任务系统（如空中交通管制和医疗设备）中依赖软件执行关键任务;（3）降低开发和维护成本，因为在设计周期早期发现的错误更容易纠正。 模型驱动工程（MDE）是一种新兴的和流行的软件工程过程，其中下游开发工件（如代码）直接从基于软件的系统的模型中导出。 FM为这些模型提供了精确的含义，这反过来又使这些模型的分析不仅仅是为了代码的推导。FM应用于MDE的一个主要挑战是状态空间爆炸问题--尽管计算能力迅速增加，但大多数系统仍然太大，以至于无法穷尽地探索有限的行为集。MDE将受益于创建更抽象的模型的能力，以便从系统开发过程的开始就能够使用它。本研究的目标是调查是否可以利用用户在建模过程中创建的三种类型的抽象来扩展我们可以在抽象模型的形式化分析中探索的状态空间的大小。考虑的三种类型的抽象是：语言抽象（由高级建模语言提供的），结构抽象（如定义）和进化抽象（不完整信息的占位符）。作为这项研究的结果，正式的抽象模型将有可能在MDE开发过程中更早地使用，并在整个演化过程中发挥积极的综合作用。