Synthesis of component and connector models from crosscutting structural views

Shahar Maoz, Jan Oliver Ringert, Bernhard Rumpe

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present component and connector (C&C) views, which specify structural properties of component and connector models in an expressive and intuitive way. C&C views provide means to abstract away direct hierarchy, direct connectivity, port names and types, and thus can crosscut the traditional boundaries of the implementation-oriented hierarchical decomposition of systems and sub-systems, and reflect the partial knowledge available to different stakeholders involved in a system's design. As a primary application for C&C views we investigate the synthesis problem: given a C&C views specification, consisting of mandatory, alternative, and negative views, construct a concrete satisfying C&C model, if one exists. We show that the problem is NP-hard and solve it, in a bounded scope, using a reduction to SAT, via Alloy. We further extend the basic problem with support for library components, specification patterns, and architectural styles. The result of synthesis can be used for further exploration, simulation, and refinement of the C&C model or, as the complete, final model itself, for direct code generation. A prototype tool and an evaluation over four example systems with multiple specifications show promising results and suggest interesting future research directions towards a comprehensive development environment for the structure of component and connector designs.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2013 9th Joint Meeting of the European Software Engineering Conference and the ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2013 - Proceedings
Pages444-454
Number of pages11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event2013 9th Joint Meeting of the European Software Engineering Conference and the ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2013 - Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Duration: 18 Aug 201326 Aug 2013

Publication series

Name2013 9th Joint Meeting of the European Software Engineering Conference and the ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2013 - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2013 9th Joint Meeting of the European Software Engineering Conference and the ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2013
Country/TerritoryRussian Federation
CitySaint Petersburg
Period18/08/1326/08/13

Keywords

  • Component and connector models
  • Synthesis

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