A visual based framework for the model refactoring techniques

Abstract

Refactoring is one of the most important rules and practices of Extreme Programming from the family of the Agile Methodologies. We propose the tool to refactor the UML model (Class Diagrams for now). In the first step we need to find the flaws (bad smells) in the model with the OCL query and then in the second step we transform the flaw to the correct fragment with the transformation script. The paper presents the set of methods and tools for the model adjustment, cooperating with the CASE systems. We analyze the concept and algorithms for the refactoring, OCL queries and transformation scripts generating. We have prepared functional prototype of the editor for the refactoring rules definition, OCL query generator and the transformation script generator. In the future, we plan to extend the framework with alternative notations (e.g., QVT graph transformation rules, PICS, Viatra2) and the other techniques to find the flaws (e.g., rule-based system with predicates of the bad smells, XMI transformations and Abstract Syntax Tree algebra, Bit-Vector and Similarity Scoring Algorithms).