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Nivel: a metamodelling language with a formal semantics

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Abstract

Much work has been done to clarify the notion of metamodelling and new ideas, such as strict metamodelling, distinction between ontological and linguistic instantiation, unified modelling elements and deep instantiation, have been introduced. However, many of these ideas have not yet been fully developed and integrated into modelling languages with (concrete) syntax, rigorous semantics and tool support. Consequently, applying these ideas in practice and reasoning about their meaning is difficult, if not impossible. In this paper, we strive to add semantic rigour and conceptual clarity to metamodelling through the introduction of Nivel, a novel metamodelling language capable of expressing models spanning an arbitrary number of levels. Nivel is based on a core set of conceptual modelling concepts: class, generalisation, instantiation, attribute, value and association. Nivel adheres to a form of strict metamodelling and supports deep instantiation of classes, associations and attributes. A formal semantics is given for Nivel by translation to weight constraint rule language (WCRL), which enables decidable, automated reasoning about Nivel. The modelling facilities of Nivel and the utility of the formalisation are demonstrated in a case study on feature modelling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 9210, 02015, TKK, Finland

    Timo Asikainen & Tomi Männistö

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  1. Timo Asikainen
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  2. Tomi Männistö
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Correspondence to Timo Asikainen.

Additional information

Communicated by Prof. Thomas Kühne.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) and from the Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation.

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Asikainen, T., Männistö, T. Nivel: a metamodelling language with a formal semantics. Softw Syst Model 8, 521–549 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-008-0103-2

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