2009-06-24

MDE and reliability: Barriers to Systematic Model Transformation Testing

by: Yves Le Traon

Abstract: Model Driven Engineering (MDE) techniques support extensive use of models in order to manage the increasing complexity of software systems. Appropriate abstractions of software system elements can ease reasoning and understanding and thus limit the risk of errors in large systems.

Automatic model transformations play a critical role in MDE since they automate complex, tedious, error-prone, and recurrent software development tasks. Airbus uses automatic code synthesis from SCADE models to generate the code for embedded controllers in the Airbus A380. Commercial tools for model transformations exist.

A fault in a transformation can introduce a fault in the transformed model, which if undetected and not removed, can propagate to other models in successive development steps. As a fault propagates further, it becomes more difficult to detect and isolate. Since model transformations are meant to be reused, faults present in them may result in many faulty models.

Model transformations constitute a class of programs with unique characteristics that make testing them challenging. The complexity of input and output data, lack of model management tools, and the heterogeneity of transformation languages pose special problems to testers of transformations. In this presentation, we identify current model transformation characteristics that contribute to the difficulty of systematically testing transformations. We present promising solutions and propose possible ways to overcome these barriers.

Questions/points to be discussed: use of SAT solvers for test model generation MDA components reuse