Towards round-Trip engineering of code fragments embedded in models

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

While embedding code fragments in abstract software models (e.g. Java code in UML models) is far from ideal, it remains a commonly-employed approach for achieving full model-based code generation. In this paper, we embrace this reality and present an approach for extending model-To-Text (M2T) transformation languages with support for round-Trip engineering of such code fragments. The approach consists of a new construct in M2T templates named sync regions, and a mechanism for synchronising hand-written code in sync regions with the source model of the M2T transformation. We have implemented the proposed approach on top of an existing M2T language (Epsilon Generation Language) and we have carried out experimental evaluation of the correctness and performance of our implementations. The obtained results suggest that the synchronisation algorithm scales linearly with the number of sync regions.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - ACM/IEEE 25th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, MODELS 2022
Subtitle of host publicationCompanion Proceedings
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages529-538
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450394673
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Oct 2022
Event25th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, MODELS 2022 - Montreal, Canada
Duration: 23 Oct 202228 Oct 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings - ACM/IEEE 25th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, MODELS 2022: Companion Proceedings

Conference

Conference25th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, MODELS 2022
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period23/10/2228/10/22

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work in this paper has been partially funded through the HI-CLASS InnovateUK project (contract no. 113213).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Association for Computing Machinery. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

Keywords

  • model-driven engineering
  • model-To-Text transformation
  • round-Trip engineering

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