Difference between pages "D32 Teamwork" and "D32 UML-B"

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imported>Vitaly
 
imported>Colin
 
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=== Overview ===
+
= Overview =
−
Teamwork consists of  
+
Progress on UML-B falls into three parallel developments.
−
* SVN enabling teamwork plug-in
+
# Enhancement and maintenance of the current and existing UML-B plug-in with new functionality and usability features.
−
* Decomposition methods
+
# Development of a new plug-in to provide animation of UML-B state-machine diagrams.
 +
# Development of a new plug-in (called iUML-B) that provides an alternative to UML-B which is more closely integrated with Event-B.
  
 +
== Enhancement and Maintenance of Existing UML-B ==
  
−
* Team-working Plug-in is a new feature developed by University of Southampton in request to industrial partners who required support of Rodin project management and team development using Subversion system. Having this support would bring the benefit of centralised model storage and versioning, as well as parallel development. Despite a few functional limitations, derived by specific nature of the Rodin projects, the implemented plug-in gives support for Subversion-based project sharing and collaborative development.
+
:The main progress on UML-B has been to implement new features, improve usability and fix bugs. As in the previous years of DEPLOY, these bugs and features are reported either by email or through dedicated SourceForge trackers. The list below gives an overwiew of the noteworthy features added in UML-B during the past year:
  
−
* Decomposition plug-in was developed by Renato Silva (University of Southampton), Carine Pascal (Systerel) based on the initial prototype developed by T.S. Hoang (ETH Zurich). This plug-in was developed as an answer to models that became to big to be handled with a large number of events, a large number of variables and consequently a large number of proof obligations over several levels of refinements. There are two kinds of decomposition available: ''shared event'' (studied initially by Michael Butler) and ''shared variable'' (studied initially by Jean-Raymond Abrial). Both decomposition styles allow the partition of the original model into (smaller) sub-models. The sub-models are expected to be easier to handle, with less variables and less events and less proof obligations. This partition is done in a way that the sub-models (also referred as sub-components) are independent of each other and therefore can be refined individually. As a consequence, each sub-model can be further developed by different people allowing teamwork development.
+
:# Functional enhancements to modelling
 +
:#* State-machine transitions emanating from multiple states. It is often the case that a transition may occur from several (possibly all) states within a state-machine. Such models were impossible to represent in UML-B. Two pseudo-states were added to represent this. Firstly an 'ANY' pseudo-state can be used as a transition source to represent that the transition can occur from ANY state of the state-machine. Secondly a disjunctive pseudo-state can be used to combine several transitions from different source states into a single transition.
 +
:#* Conceptual Singleton classes - provides a conceptual grouping of associated modelling elements without generating the lifting mechanisms of a class.  
 +
:#* Super-type arrows to target ExtendedClassTypes and RefinedClasses - this functionality was missing in previous versions.
 +
:#* Event convergence property on state-machine transitions - convergence was previously available only on events
 +
:# Enhancements to improve usability
 +
:#* Report to user if translation didn't proceed due to model validator - previously, it was not clear when the model had failed validation and the translation had not been executed.
 +
:#* Improve refresh of diagrams - in some situations the diagram graphics did not update error marking and properties changes unless some other event caused a refresh.
 +
:#* Improvements and additions to model validations - some model validations were inconsistent or incomplete.
 +
:#* Preference for line routing style for each diagram type - allows the user to choose whether to use rectilinear or oblique line routing for each diagram type.
 +
:# Corrections
 +
:#* Correct and improve missing default labelling in diagrams.
 +
:#* Corrections and improvements to automatic diagram deletion.
 +
:#* Improved management of diagram files when model changes.
 +
:#* Add missing comment fields in properties view.
  
−
=== Motivations ===
+
== UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in==
−
Main reasons for implementing teamwork are:
+
:The UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in is a new feature developed by University of Southampton as a response to a request from industrial partners to support the animation of UML-B state-machine diagrams. The essence of the request was to provide a means of visualising the animation and model-checking process of Event-B machines modelled in UML-B tool, in particular state-machines, thus to simplify this process. The tool integrates the capabilities of ProB animation and UML-B State-machine notation.
−
* SVN Teamwork
 
−
: The reason to support compatibility of Rodin projects with Subversion was to allow Rodin users to share their projects and work on them together, as well as have the benefits of versioning and revision control, provided by the SVN system. It was difficult to work on models in parallel and manage changes made by different parties, especially for big and complex models. Other users expressed a concern on safety aspect of collaborative development, thus pointing out the benefits of centralised repository storage of the models under development on SVN.
 
  
−
=== Choices / Decisions ===
+
== iUML-B - Integrated UML-B ==
−
* SVN Teamwork
+
: The prototype iUML-B plug-in (not yet released) is an extension to the Event-B EMF framework. It will consist of a collection of independent plug-ins that provides support for diagrammatic modelling integrated with Event-B textual modelling. At this stage a plug-in to show the project structure (in terms of machines and contexts and their relationships has been released. A plug-in to support state-machine diagrams integrated with textual Event-B is at a prototype stage and nearing release. Plug-ins to support other kinds of diagram are in the early stages of development.
−
: The desired objective of a plug-in that would bring support for Subversion in Rodin was to make a Rodin project compatible with standard SVN interface. Due to nature of the Rodin resource management, in particular the use of Rodin database and non-XMI serialisation, it turned out a hard task. A solution to this difficulty was to provide an alternative serialisation method, that would be compatible with Subversion interface. XMI serialisation has been chosen in the final plug-in, which together with Event-B EMF framework provides a shareable copy of the resources of a Rodin project and takes care of synchronisation between two.
 
  
−
=== Available Documentation ===
+
= Motivations =
−
* SVN Team-based development documentation<ref>http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/Team-based_development</ref>
 
  
−
=== Planning ===
+
== Enhancement and Maintenance of Existing UML-B ==
−
This paragraph shall give a timeline and current status (as of 28 Jan 2011).
+
Several case studies were involving state machine diagrams which were problematic because particular transitions could be enabled from any sub-state. there was no way to represent these cases in UML-B.
  
−
=References=
+
== Animation Plug-in ==
 +
The motivation for the Animation Plug-in was to extend already beneficial graphical notation of UML-B with animation capabilities similar to those that ProB tool provides for Event-B models. With the aid of such a plug-in animation and model checking would be possible on UML-B diagrams instead of translated and less obvious Event-B code. The resulting plug-in uses ProB tool to run the standard animation on translated models and animates UML-B state-machines at the same time.
 +
 
 +
= Choices / Decisions =
 +
== Integrated UML-B ==
 +
: It was planned to develop a new version (iUML-B) of UML-B which is more integrated with Event-B. A precursor stage to this was to develop an EMF representation of Event-B. This was completed last year and is now used successfully by several plug-ins. A Records plug-in was developed in response to user requests. The Records plug-in was implemented as an extension to the Event-B EMF framework. This was seen as a 'practice run' before attempting a similar extension to support UML-B. However, the Records plug-in took longer than expected and this has delayed work on iUML-B. Some progress on iUML-B has recently been made with the release of a project level diagram tool for Event-B and some progress on representing State-Machine diagram models as an extension to the Event-B EMF models.
 +
 
 +
== State-machine Animation Plug-in ==
 +
: The initial design decision was to extend the UML-B metamodel with the animation components. Due to difficulties with UML-B diagram extensibility an alternative option was determined to create a separate model, derived from UML-B state-machine subset, with incorporated animation support. This design was successfully implemented together with ProB and Rodin UI extensions into Animation plug-in, which supports such UML-B concepts as classes and different state-machine translation kinds, as well as Event-B refinement.
 +
 
 +
= Available Documentation =
 +
The following pages give useful information about UML-B:
 +
* Lectures<ref name="UML-B">http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B</ref>.
 +
* Tutorials<ref name="UML-B">http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B</ref>.
 +
* Worked Examples<ref name="UML-B">http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B</ref>.
 +
 
 +
UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in:
 +
* General information<ref>http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B_-_Statemachine_Animation</ref>
 +
* Tutorial<ref>http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/Statemachine_Animation_Tutorial</ref>
 +
 
 +
= Planning =
 +
During the coming year, special efforts will be made on the following topics,
 +
* Development of the Project Diagram Plugin for Event-B to make it extensible and/or to automatically cater for future component types.
 +
: The current version of the Project Diagram Plugin only supports Machines and Contexts and their relationships. Already, several plug-ins are contributing new kinds of components such as theories, tasking machines and compositions. The Project Diagram plug-in will be enhanced to provide an extension mechanism that allow other plug-ins to extend the project diagram to show new kinds of components and their relationship.
 +
* Development of a State-machine diagram plug-in as an integrated part of Event-B modelling
 +
: The State-machine diagram plug-in will provide a diagrammatic modelling environment based on state-machines alongside the usual Event-B modelling format. The two views will contribute to the same model simultaneously.
 +
 
 +
In parallel with these new plug-ins, the current version of UML-B will continue to be enhanced. This may include some new modelling features such as better support for synchronisation of state-machines and support for more UML modelling details. However, usability of the current features is seen as the main objective. This will include,
 +
* Support for copy, cut and paste of diagram elements so that they can be moved and/or replicated more easily,
 +
* Support for re-attaching links (e.g. transitions) to different source/target elements,
 +
* Facilities for refactoring/renaming elements,
 +
* Support for the event extension mechanism of Event-B,
 +
* Integration of Context Diagram model elements on Class diagrams,
 +
* Improve facilities for navigating between state-machines and visualising multiple state-machines.
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 
[[Category:D32 Deliverable]]
 
[[Category:D32 Deliverable]]

Revision as of 16:37, 26 January 2011

Overview

Progress on UML-B falls into three parallel developments.

  1. Enhancement and maintenance of the current and existing UML-B plug-in with new functionality and usability features.
  2. Development of a new plug-in to provide animation of UML-B state-machine diagrams.
  3. Development of a new plug-in (called iUML-B) that provides an alternative to UML-B which is more closely integrated with Event-B.

Enhancement and Maintenance of Existing UML-B

The main progress on UML-B has been to implement new features, improve usability and fix bugs. As in the previous years of DEPLOY, these bugs and features are reported either by email or through dedicated SourceForge trackers. The list below gives an overwiew of the noteworthy features added in UML-B during the past year:
  1. Functional enhancements to modelling
    • State-machine transitions emanating from multiple states. It is often the case that a transition may occur from several (possibly all) states within a state-machine. Such models were impossible to represent in UML-B. Two pseudo-states were added to represent this. Firstly an 'ANY' pseudo-state can be used as a transition source to represent that the transition can occur from ANY state of the state-machine. Secondly a disjunctive pseudo-state can be used to combine several transitions from different source states into a single transition.
    • Conceptual Singleton classes - provides a conceptual grouping of associated modelling elements without generating the lifting mechanisms of a class.
    • Super-type arrows to target ExtendedClassTypes and RefinedClasses - this functionality was missing in previous versions.
    • Event convergence property on state-machine transitions - convergence was previously available only on events
  2. Enhancements to improve usability
    • Report to user if translation didn't proceed due to model validator - previously, it was not clear when the model had failed validation and the translation had not been executed.
    • Improve refresh of diagrams - in some situations the diagram graphics did not update error marking and properties changes unless some other event caused a refresh.
    • Improvements and additions to model validations - some model validations were inconsistent or incomplete.
    • Preference for line routing style for each diagram type - allows the user to choose whether to use rectilinear or oblique line routing for each diagram type.
  3. Corrections
    • Correct and improve missing default labelling in diagrams.
    • Corrections and improvements to automatic diagram deletion.
    • Improved management of diagram files when model changes.
    • Add missing comment fields in properties view.

UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in

The UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in is a new feature developed by University of Southampton as a response to a request from industrial partners to support the animation of UML-B state-machine diagrams. The essence of the request was to provide a means of visualising the animation and model-checking process of Event-B machines modelled in UML-B tool, in particular state-machines, thus to simplify this process. The tool integrates the capabilities of ProB animation and UML-B State-machine notation.

iUML-B - Integrated UML-B

The prototype iUML-B plug-in (not yet released) is an extension to the Event-B EMF framework. It will consist of a collection of independent plug-ins that provides support for diagrammatic modelling integrated with Event-B textual modelling. At this stage a plug-in to show the project structure (in terms of machines and contexts and their relationships has been released. A plug-in to support state-machine diagrams integrated with textual Event-B is at a prototype stage and nearing release. Plug-ins to support other kinds of diagram are in the early stages of development.

Motivations

Enhancement and Maintenance of Existing UML-B

Several case studies were involving state machine diagrams which were problematic because particular transitions could be enabled from any sub-state. there was no way to represent these cases in UML-B.

Animation Plug-in

The motivation for the Animation Plug-in was to extend already beneficial graphical notation of UML-B with animation capabilities similar to those that ProB tool provides for Event-B models. With the aid of such a plug-in animation and model checking would be possible on UML-B diagrams instead of translated and less obvious Event-B code. The resulting plug-in uses ProB tool to run the standard animation on translated models and animates UML-B state-machines at the same time.

Choices / Decisions

Integrated UML-B

It was planned to develop a new version (iUML-B) of UML-B which is more integrated with Event-B. A precursor stage to this was to develop an EMF representation of Event-B. This was completed last year and is now used successfully by several plug-ins. A Records plug-in was developed in response to user requests. The Records plug-in was implemented as an extension to the Event-B EMF framework. This was seen as a 'practice run' before attempting a similar extension to support UML-B. However, the Records plug-in took longer than expected and this has delayed work on iUML-B. Some progress on iUML-B has recently been made with the release of a project level diagram tool for Event-B and some progress on representing State-Machine diagram models as an extension to the Event-B EMF models.

State-machine Animation Plug-in

The initial design decision was to extend the UML-B metamodel with the animation components. Due to difficulties with UML-B diagram extensibility an alternative option was determined to create a separate model, derived from UML-B state-machine subset, with incorporated animation support. This design was successfully implemented together with ProB and Rodin UI extensions into Animation plug-in, which supports such UML-B concepts as classes and different state-machine translation kinds, as well as Event-B refinement.

Available Documentation

The following pages give useful information about UML-B:

  • Lectures[1].
  • Tutorials[1].
  • Worked Examples[1].

UML-B State-machine Animation Plug-in:

  • General information[2]
  • Tutorial[3]

Planning

During the coming year, special efforts will be made on the following topics,

  • Development of the Project Diagram Plugin for Event-B to make it extensible and/or to automatically cater for future component types.
The current version of the Project Diagram Plugin only supports Machines and Contexts and their relationships. Already, several plug-ins are contributing new kinds of components such as theories, tasking machines and compositions. The Project Diagram plug-in will be enhanced to provide an extension mechanism that allow other plug-ins to extend the project diagram to show new kinds of components and their relationship.
  • Development of a State-machine diagram plug-in as an integrated part of Event-B modelling
The State-machine diagram plug-in will provide a diagrammatic modelling environment based on state-machines alongside the usual Event-B modelling format. The two views will contribute to the same model simultaneously.

In parallel with these new plug-ins, the current version of UML-B will continue to be enhanced. This may include some new modelling features such as better support for synchronisation of state-machines and support for more UML modelling details. However, usability of the current features is seen as the main objective. This will include,

  • Support for copy, cut and paste of diagram elements so that they can be moved and/or replicated more easily,
  • Support for re-attaching links (e.g. transitions) to different source/target elements,
  • Facilities for refactoring/renaming elements,
  • Support for the event extension mechanism of Event-B,
  • Integration of Context Diagram model elements on Class diagrams,
  • Improve facilities for navigating between state-machines and visualising multiple state-machines.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B
  2. ↑ http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/UML-B_-_Statemachine_Animation
  3. ↑ http://wiki.event-b.org/index.php/Statemachine_Animation_Tutorial
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