An ontology-based framework for domain-specific modeling

We are proud to anounce that our work on domain specific language and OWL was published on the Software and Systems Modeling Journal

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) provide abstractions and notations for better understanding and easier modeling of applications in a special domain. Current shortcomings of DSLs include learning curve and formal semantics. This paper reports on a framework that allows the use of ontology technologies to describe and reason on DSLs. The formal semantics of OWL together with reasoning services allows for addressing constraint definition, progressive evaluation, suggestions, and debugging. The approach integrates existing metamodels and concrete syntaxes in a new technical space. A scenario in which domain models for network devices are created illustrates the framework.

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New Book about MDE with Ontology Technologies

Bridging Technological Spaces. Towards the Combination of Model-Driven Engineering and Ontology Technologies Tobias Walter ISBN 978-3-8325-2936-9 271 Seiten, Erscheinungsjahr: 2011 Preis: 39.50 Eur Stichworte/keywords: Model-driven Engineering, Metamodel Engineering, Semantic Web, Ontology, Technological Space, Description Logics Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) aims to raise the level of abstraction in software system specifications and increase automation in software development. Modelware technological spaces contain the languages and tools for MDE that software developers take into consideration to model systems and domains. Ontoware technological spaces contain ontology languages and technologies to design, query, and reason on knowledge. With the advent of the Semantic Web, ontologies are now being used within the field of software development, as well. In this thesis, bridging technologies are developed to combine two technological spaces in general. In particular, this thesis focuses on the combination of modelware and ontoware technological spaces. Subsequent to a sound comparison of languages and tools in both spaces, the bridging technologies are used to build a common technological space, which allows for the hybrid use of languages and the interoperable use of tools.

TwoUse Toolkit: More than 4000 visits in 11 months.

As we get close to the first anniversary of the TwoUse Toolkit, we take a look at the audience interested in the tool. In the last 11 months, more than 4000 visitors from 81 countries visited our web site. 

Let's keep up the good work!

Templates in OWL Ontologies

Ontology Templates on Prezi

Towards Hybrid Reasoning for Verifying and Validating Multilevel Models

Ontologies and its reasoning services are expected to play an important role in many application domains, as well as in software engineering in general. In model-driven engineering (MDE), models, like UML models, represent and specify software systems.

One problem with using ontologies within software engineering is that while model-driven engineering realizes a four-layer metamodelling architecture, the new version of OWL Web Ontology Language, called OWL 2, it supports only simple metamodelling. Moreover, the semantics of metamodelling in OWL 2 corresponds to the contextual semantics which leads to non-intuitive results. Another issue is that the Open World Assumption (OWA) assumes a model is incomplete. Therefore, we could not validate some constrains in OWA.

We demonstrate multilevel (meta-) modelling using ontologies described in OWL FA, which has a well defined fixed-layered architecture and semantics. As well as an approach to integrate Closed World Assumption (CWA) with OWA in order to use both assumptions for verifying and validating multilevel model.

This joint work with the University of Aberdeen will be presented
at the EKAW conference, October, Lisbon

Specialization and Validation of Statecharts in OWL

It is germane in the engineering process of knowledge bases to represent a model on different abstraction levels, developed and refined by different engineers. Hence, they are initially described at a level of coarse granularity and then refined into a more specific representation.

Given two behavior models like statecharts, it is a challenging task to decide whether one statechart is still a valid specialization of the other, more abstract model. We use OWL to model statecharts and to validate statechart specializations.

This work will be presented at the EKAW conference in October
in Lisbon.

Bridging Software Languages and Ontology Technologies

Today's model-driven development approaches allow for a more productive way of developing software systems. However, building tools and languages for software development still suffer a neglect of semantics in modeling and metamodeling.

An interest to extend software languages that gained scientific and commercial attention is the integration of ontology technology and software development. Ontology formalisms for consistency validation and dynamic classification as well as ontology technologies to enable shared terminologies, automated reasoning, provide means for leveraging metamodeling and language engineering.

Check out our tutorial at SPLASH 2010 (previously OOPSLA) on Bridging Software Languages and Ontology Technologies