Model-driven plug-in development for UML based modeling systems

Abstract

UML is the main modeling language used in model-driven development (MDD). In many cases, UML-based modeling systems need to be extended by plug-ins to support different modeling approaches. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for model-driven development of plug-ins, which enables reuse of UML modeling capabilities for defining executable plug-in models. This approach suggests that UML-based modeling system should provide for their users a set of extension profiles that make up Application Modeling Interface (AMI), which is MDD alternative to Application Programming Interface (API). The paper describes three cases of AMI - model validation, methodology wizards, and model patterns - and sample plug-in models based on them. The presented samples are implemented in MagicDraw, which is one of the most popular UML-based modeling systems worldwide. The paper also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed approach and its further research directions