Skip to main content

Model Driven Development Approaches for Mobile Applications: A Survey

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Mobile Web and Intelligent Information Systems (MobiWIS 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 9847))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

The usage and development of mobile applications (referred to as apps) are experiencing exponential growth. Moreover, the vastness and diversity of mobile devices and operating systems oblige the software companies, that want to reach a wide audience, to develop and deploy the same app several times, once for each targeted platforms. Furthermore, the dilemma between browser-based and native user interfaces remains relevant and challenges the capacity of organizations to meet the increasing demand for mobile apps. The adoption of model driven development (MDD) can simplify the development of mobile apps, reducing significantly technical complexity and development costs. Several researches have applied MDD techniques to address these challenges. In this paper, we define a set of criteria to assess the current model driven approaches to mobile apps development. We classify those approaches according the defined classification schema and present the current trends and challenges in this field. The survey shows a preference of code generation over model interpretation and of native apps over cross-platform ones.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    www.obeodesigner.com/.

  2. 2.

    https://github.com/applause/applause.

  3. 3.

    http://backbonejs.org.

  4. 4.

    www.mendix.com.

  5. 5.

    http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/.

  6. 6.

    www.webratio.com.

  7. 7.

    www.appian.com.

  8. 8.

    Gartner predicts that more than 50 % of mobile apps deployed by 2016 will be hybrid.

References

  1. eMarketer report, April 2016. http://www.emarketer.com/

  2. Flurry, April 2015. http://www.flurry.com/

  3. Statista, April 2015. http://www.statista.com/

  4. Acerbis, R., Bongio, A., Brambilla, M., Butti, S.: Model-driven development of cross-platform mobile applications with web ratio and IFML. In: MOBILESoft 2015, pp. 170–171 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Amalfitano, D., Fasolino, A.R., Tramontana, P., Ta, B.D., Memon, A.M.: MobiGUITAR: automated model-based testing of mobile apps. IEEE Softw. 32(5), 53–59 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Berti, S., Correani, F., Mori, G., Paternò, F., Santoro, C.: TERESA: a transformation-based environment for designing and developing multi-device interfaces. In: CHI Extended Abstracts, pp. 793–794 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Brambilla, M., Cabot, J., Wimmer, M.: Model-Driven Software Engineering in Practice. Synthesis Lectures on Software Engineering. Morgan & Claypool Publishers, San Rafael (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Brambilla, M., Fraternali, P., et al.: The interaction flow modeling language (IFML), version 1.0. Technical report, Object Management Group (OMG) (2014). http://www.ifml.org

  9. Brambilla, M., Mauri, A., Umuhoza, E.: Extending the interaction flow modeling language (IFML) for model driven development of mobile applications front end. In: Awan, I., Younas, M., Franch, X., Quer, C. (eds.) MobiWIS 2014. LNCS, vol. 8640, pp. 176–191. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Corral, L., Sillitti, A., Succi, G.: Defining relevant software quality characteristics from publishing policies of mobile app stores. In: Awan, I., Younas, M., Franch, X., Quer, C. (eds.) MobiWIS 2014. LNCS, vol. 8640, pp. 205–217. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  11. da Silva, L.P., Brito e Abreu, F.: Model-driven gui generation and navigation for android BIS apps. In: MODELSWARD 2014, pp. 400–407, January 2014

    Google Scholar 

  12. Diep, C.-K., Tran, Q.-N., Tran, M.-T.: Online model-driven ide to design guis for cross-platform mobile applications. In: SoICT 2013, pp. 294–300 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Elouali, N., Le Pallec, X., Rouillard, J., Tarby, J.-C.: MoMM 2014, pp. 52–61 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Francese, R., Risi, M., Scanniello, G., Tortora, G.: Model-driven development for multi-platform mobile applications. In: Abrahamsson, P., Corral, L., Oivo, M., Russo, B. (eds.) PROFES 2015. LNCS, vol. 9459, pp. 61–67. Springer, Heidelberg (2015). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-26844-6_5

    Google Scholar 

  15. Franzago, M., Muccini, H., Malavolta, I.: MOBILESoft 2014, pp. 58–61 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Grønli, T.-M., Hansen, J., Ghinea, G., Younas, M.: Mobile application platform heterogeneity: Android vs Windows phone vs iOS vs Firefox OS. In: AINA, pp. 635–641 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Heitkötter, H., Hanschke, S., Majchrzak, T.A.: Evaluating cross-platform development approaches for mobile applications. In: Cordeiro, J., Krempels, K.-H. (eds.) WEBIST 2012. LNBIP, vol. 140, pp. 120–138. Springer, Heidelberg (2013)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  18. Heitkötter, H., Majchrzak, T.A., Kuchen, H.: Cross-platform model-driven development of mobile applications with MD2. In: SAC 2013, pp. 526–533 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hemel, Z., Visser, E.: Declaratively programming the mobile web with mobl. In: IOOPSLA 2011, pp. 695–712 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Jia, X., Jones, C.: AXIOM: a model-driven approach to cross-platform application development. In: ICSOFT 2012, pp. 24–33 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Jobe, W.: Native apps vs. mobile web apps. iJIM 7(4), 27–32 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Kelényi, I., Nurminen, J.K., Siekkinen, M., Lengyel, L.: Supporting energy-efficient mobile application development with model-driven code generation. In: Do, T., Thi, H.A.L., Nguyen, N.T. (eds.) Advanced Computational Methods for Knowledge Engineering. AISC, vol. 282, pp. 143–156. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. Mesfin, G., Ghinea, G., Midekso, D., Grønli, T.-M.: Evaluating usability of cross-platform smartphone applications. In: Awan, I., Younas, M., Franch, X., Quer, C. (eds.) MobiWIS 2014. LNCS, vol. 8640, pp. 248–260. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Paternò, F., Santoro, C., Spano, L.D.: MARIA: a universal, declarative, multiple abstraction-level language for service-oriented applications in ubiquitous environments. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 16(4), 19:1–19:30 (2009). doi:10.1145/1614390.1614394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. ABI Research: ABI research (March 2013) application revenues coming from either smart phone or tablets, October 2013. http://mobithinking.com

  26. Ridene, Y., Barbier, F.: A model-driven approach for automating mobile applications testing. In: ECSA 2011, pp. 9:1–9:7 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Schuler, A., Franz, B.: Rule-based generation of mobile user interfaces, pp. 267–272 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Stroulia, E., Bazelli, B., Ng, J.W., Ng, T.: WL++: code generation of multi-platform mobile clients to restful back-ends. In: MOBILESoft 2015, pp. 136–137 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Thompson, C., Schmidt, D.C., Turner, H.A., White, J.: Analyzing mobile application software power consumption via model-driven engineering. In: PECCS 2011, pp. 101–113 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Thompson, C., White, J., Dougherty, B., Schmidt, D.C.: Optimizing mobile application performance with model–driven engineering. In: Lee, S., Narasimhan, P. (eds.) SEUS 2009. LNCS, vol. 5860, pp. 36–46. Springer, Heidelberg (2009)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  31. Umuhoza, E., Ed-douibi, H., Brambilla, M., Cabot, J., Bongio, A.: Automatic code generation for cross-platform, multi-device mobile apps: some reflections from an industrial experience. In: MobileDeLi 2015, pp. 37–44 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Usman, M., Iqbal, M.Z.Z., Khan, M.U.: A model-driven approach to generate mobile applications for multiple platforms. In: APSEC, pp. 111–118 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Vanderdonckt, J.: A MDA-compliant environment for developing user interfaces of information systems. In: Pastor, Ó., Falcão e Cunha, J. (eds.) CAiSE 2005. LNCS, vol. 3520, pp. 16–31. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  34. Vaupel, S., Taentzer, G., Harries, J.P., Stroh, R., Gerlach, R., Guckert, M.: Model-driven development of mobile applications allowing role-driven variants. In: Dingel, J., Schulte, W., Ramos, I., Abrahão, S., Insfran, E. (eds.) MODELS 2014. LNCS, vol. 8767, pp. 1–17. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Eric Umuhoza or Marco Brambilla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Umuhoza, E., Brambilla, M. (2016). Model Driven Development Approaches for Mobile Applications: A Survey. In: Younas, M., Awan, I., Kryvinska, N., Strauss, C., Thanh, D. (eds) Mobile Web and Intelligent Information Systems. MobiWIS 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9847. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44215-0_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44215-0_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44214-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44215-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics