A Metamodel-Based Approach to Formalizing UML
Betty H. C. Cheng · 2001
The {\it Unified Modeling Language} (UML) comprises several different notations for object-oriented modeling with no formal semantics attached to the individual diagrams. We have developed a general framework for formalizing a subset of UML diagrams in terms of various formal languages, with a focus on embedded systems. We take a homomorphic approach in our formalization framework by constructing mappings from the metamodels of UML diagrams to the metamodel of a given target specification language. Using this approach, we have formalized UML in terms of VHDL and Promela, the specification language for the SPIN model checker. An overarching goal of this project is to provide users with a migration path from existing object-oriented modeling notations to target specification languages that have extensive tool support. The existing tools enable the analysis of the UML diagrams via their corresponding specifications. We have also developed a number of visualizations to assist in the interpretation of the analysis results.