Debugging and testing behavioral UML models

Omniscient debugging is a promising technique that relies on execution traces to enable free traversal of the states reached by a model (or program) during an execution. While a few General-Purpose Languages (GPLs) already have support for omniscient debugging, developing such a complex tool for any executable Domain Specific Language (DSL) remains a challenging and error prone task. A generic solution must: support a wide range of executable DSLs independently of the metaprogramming approaches used for implementing their semantics; be efficient for good responsiveness. Our contribution relies on a generic omniscient debugger supported by efficient generic trace management facilities. To support a wide range of executable DSLs, the debugger provides a common set of debugging facilities, and is based on a pattern to define runtime services independently of metaprogramming approaches. Results show that our debugger can be used with various executable DSLs implemented with different metaprogramming approaches. As compared to a solution that copies the model at each step, it is on average six times more efficient in memory, and at least 2.2 faster when exploring past execution states, while only slowing down the execution 1.6 times on average.Keywords: Software Language Engineering; Domain-Specific Languages; Executable DSL; Omniscient debugging; Execution trace IntroductionA large amount of Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) have been proposed and used to describe the dynamic aspects of systems [1,2,3,4,5]. In that context, early dynamic verification and validation (V&V) techniques, such as testing [6], semantic differencing [7] or runtime verification [8], are necessary to ensure that such executable models (or programs 1 ) are correct. These techniques require models to be executable, which can be achieved by defining the * Corresponding author Email addresses: erwan.bousse@tuwien.ac.at (Erwan Bousse), dorian.leroy@jku.at (Dorian Leroy), benoit.combemale@irit.fr (Benoit Combemale), wimmer@big.tuwien.ac.at (Manuel Wimmer), baudry@kth.se (Benoit Baudry)1 We arbitrarily use the term executable model since this work focuses on metamodel-based DSLs, but the term program can be used interchangeably.

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“…Lastly, many approaches provide debugging for several parts of the UML [39,40,41,42,43], each considered as an independent executable DSL.…”

Section: Standard Debugging For Executable Dslsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Omniscient debugging for executable DSLs

Bousse

LeRoy²,

Combemale

et al. 2018

Journal of Systems and Software

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“…Let us mention, among the more popular ones: Sildex [7], StateMate [8], Uppaal [9], the Stateflow module [10] in Matlab/Simulink, Scilab/Scicos [11], the Finite State Machine (FSM) model of computation of Ptolemy II [12], and the UML State Machine [13]. These tools provide graphical visualization of simulations highlighting active states and fireable transitions, coupled with means to visualize and record execution traces.…”

Section: Refactoring Of Existing Animatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generative Technologies for Model Animation in the TopCased Platform

Crégut

Combemale

Pantel

et al. 2010

Modelling Foundations and Applications

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Abstract. Domain Specific Modeling Languages (DSML) are more and more used to handle high level concepts, and thus bring complex software development under control. The increasingly recurring definition of new languages raises the problem of the definition of support tools such as editor, simulator, compiler, etc. In this paper we propose generative technologies that have been designed to ease the development of model animation tools inside the TOPCASED platform. These tools rely on the automatically generated graphical editors of TOPCASED and provide additional generators for building model animator graphical interface. We also rely on an architecture for executable metamodel (i.e., the TOPCASED model execution metamodeling pattern) to bind the behavioral semantics of the modeling language. These tools were designed in a pragmatic manner by abstracting the various model animators that had been hand-coded in the TOPCASED project, and then validated by refactoring these animators.

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“…For instance, in the UML context, there are works focusing on validating only activity diagrams [49], state machine diagrams [50], [51] and state machine diagram with an activity diagram [52].…”

Section: Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Techniques that execute CSs through simulation and animation [61], [52], [62][63], present facilities for the users to uncover inconsistencies and execute operations of the specification with parameters supplied by users, thereby calculating the value of the output parameters and the new system state. The idea of animating conceptual schemas for validation purposes dates back to the mid-80s.…”

Section: Simulation and Animationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, the USE tool by Gogolla et al [55] receives a UML class diagram and a set of declarative operations and is able to validate the structure/behaviour according to the modeller/designer expectations (such as the consistency of UML models and the independence of OCL constraints) through animation. In this context, the authors Dotan and Kirshin [52]; and Teilans et al [63] present tools providing graphical visualization of simulations on activity diagrams highlighting active states and fireable transitions, coupled with means to visualize and record execution traces.…”

Section: Simulation and Animationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing-Based Conceptual Schema Validation in a Model-Driven Environment

Granda

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Debugging and testing behavioral UML models

Cited by 20 publications

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Omniscient debugging for executable DSLs

Omniscient debugging for executable DSLs

Generative Technologies for Model Animation in the TopCased Platform

Testing-Based Conceptual Schema Validation in a Model-Driven Environment

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