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A framework for relating syntactic and semantic model differences

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Abstract

Model differencing is an important activity in model-based development processes. Differences need to be detected, analyzed, and understood to evolve systems and explore alternatives. Two distinct approaches have been studied in the literature: syntactic differencing, which compares the concrete or abstract syntax of models, and semantic differencing, which compares models in terms of their meaning. Syntactic differencing identifies change operations that transform the syntactical representation of one model to the syntactical representation of the other. However, it does not explain their impact on the meaning of the model. Semantic model differencing is independent of syntactic changes and presents differences as elements in the semantics of one model but not the other. However, it does not reveal the syntactic changes causing these semantic differences. We define Diffuse, a language-independent, abstract framework, which relates syntactic change operations and semantic difference witnesses. We formalize fundamental relations of necessary, exhibiting, and sufficient sets of change operations and analyze their properties. We further demonstrate concrete instances of the Diffuse framework for three different popular modeling languages, namely class diagrams, activity diagrams, and feature models. The Diffuse framework provides a novel foundation for combining syntactic and semantic differencing.

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Notes

  1. Eclipse Graphical Modeling Project. http://www.eclipse.org/modeling/gmp/

  2. Removed first parameter (process model) and successor node parameter (in addition to \( dest \)) when clear in examples.

  3. Shortened names of CD change operations defined in [33]

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Acknowledgments

We thank the anonymous reviewers of the MoDELS’15 conference paper and its present journal version for their helpful comments. Part of this work was done while SM was on sabbatical as visiting scientist at MIT CSAIL. JOR acknowledges support from a postdoctoral Minerva Fellowship, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.

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  1. School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Shahar Maoz & Jan Oliver Ringert

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  1. Shahar Maoz
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  2. Jan Oliver Ringert
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Correspondence to Shahar Maoz or Jan Oliver Ringert.

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Communicated by Dr. Jordi Cabot and Alexander Egyed.

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Maoz, S., Ringert, J.O. A framework for relating syntactic and semantic model differences. Softw Syst Model 17, 753–777 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-016-0552-y

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