Fuzzy extensions for reverse engineering repository models
Ulrike Kölsch, René Witte · 2004
Reverse Engineering is a process fraught with imperfections.The importance of dealing with non-precise, possiblyinconsistent data explicitly when interacting with the reverseengineer has been pointed out before.In this paper, we go one step further: we argue that thecomplete reverse engineering process must be augmentedwith a formal representation model capable of modelingimperfections. This includes automatic as well as human-centeredtools.We show how this can be achieved by merging a fuzzyset-theory based knowledge representation model with a reverseengineering repository. Our approach is not only capableof modeling a wide range of different kinds of imperfections(uncertain as well as vague information), butalso admits robust processing models by defining explicitdegrees of certainty and their modification through fuzzy beliefrevision operators.The repository-centered approch is proposed as the foundationfor a new generation of reverse engineering tools.We show how various RE tasks can benefit from our approachand state first design ideas for fuzzy reverse engineeringtools.