Design patterns for metamodels

Abstract

A metamodel is used to define the abstract syntax (i.e., entities, attributes, and relations) of a Domain-Specific Modeling Language (DSML). In addition, a metamodel also defines constraints and static semantics that provide additional information about the modeling language beyond the abstract syntax. In many cases, the specification of a new metamodel is highly dependent on the designer's background and experiences. Thus, metamodel designs often differ from designer to designer, even for recurring design problems (i.e., there is more than one way to specify a modeling language with a metamodel). The quality of a metamodel design may also vary according to the designer's domain knowledge and modeling language expertise. To provide consistent solutions for recurring metamodel design issues, design patterns applied to metamodels may offer key insights, especially to new language designers who have less experience. In this paper, we motivate the need for design patterns for metamodels and provide a few examples of the concept.