Core meta-modelling semantics of UML: the pUML approach
Andy S. Evans, Stuart Kent · Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) · 1999
Abstract. The current UML semantics documentation has made a sig-ni cant step towards providing a precise description of the UML. How-ever, at present the semantic model it proposes only provides a descrip-tion of the language's syntax and well-formedness rules. The meaning of the language, which is mainly described in English, is too informal and unstructured to provide a foundation for developing formal anal-ysis and development techniques. Another problem is the scope of the model, which is both complex and large. This paper describes work cur-rently being undertaken by the precise UML group (pUML), an interna-tional group of researchers and practitioners, to address these problems. A formalisation strategy is presented which concentrates on giving a pre-cise denotational semantics to core elements of UML. This is illustrated through the development of precise denitions of two important con-cepts: generalization and packages. Finally, a viewpoint architecture is proposed as a means of providing improved separation of concerns in the semantics denition. 1