Contextual and Relational Role-Based Modeling Framework

Abstract

Model-driven Software Development (MDSD) approaches struggle when modeling context-dependent and dynamic systems, as their underlying metamodels cannot capture context-dependent concepts and relations. By contrast, role-based modeling has been studied for more than 35 years as a promising paradigm to model context-dependent and dynamic systems. Although some approaches have considered the application of roles on the metamodel level, no approach employed a contextual and relational role-based metamodel as the basis of a modeling framework. To remedy this, we employ the Compartment Role Object Model (CROM) which is a contextual and relational role-based modeling language, as the underlying metamodel of a novel Role-based Modeling Framework (RMF). In particular, our framework is able to generate inter-operable Java source code that permits the programmatic creation, manipulation, and persistence of role-based models. We illustrate the applicability of RMF by modeling a small system with context-dependent concepts and relations, generating corresponding Java source code, and employing it to load, manipulate, and store role-based models.