Graph-theoretic foundations of model-driven engineering
Laying sound foundations for the field
As an engineering discipline, it’s important that model-driven engineering is based on sound mathematical foundations. Graph transformations are a highly suitable formalism here, as models are typically captured as graphs of interconnected objects (indepent of whether they are represented visually as graphs, texts, or tables). I am interested in the use of graph theory and graph rewriting as the formal foundations of model-driven engineering. In particular, I am interested in
modularity and reuse in models and model transformations;
the interaction between transformations and consistency constraints.
Lots of research remains to be done here and I have a strong network of collaborators with whom you would be able to interact, too. There are opportunities for purely formal research as well as research around encoding formalisms in powerful tools that can analyse, compose, and validate models and model transformations.
References
Book Chapters
2021
GTSMorpher: Safely Composing Behavioural Analyses Using Structured Operational Semantics
@incollection{DuranEtAl13,author={Dur{\'a}n, Francisco and Orejas, Fernando and Zschaler, Steffen},title={Behaviour Protection in Modular Rule-Based System Specifications},doi={10.1007/978-3-642-37635-1_2},url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37635-1_2},pages={24--49},editor={Mart{\'\i}Oliet, Narciso and Palomino, Miguel},booktitle={Recent Trends in Algebraic Development Techniques},publisher={Springer Berlin Heidelberg},series={Lecture Notes in Computer Science},volume={7841},year={2013},isbn={978-3-642-37634-4},}
@article{KosiolEtAl21,author={Kosiol, Jens and Str{\"u}ber, Daniel and Taentzer, Gabriele and Zschaler, Steffen},title={Sustaining and Improving Graduated Graph Consistency: A Static Analysis of Graph Transformations},journal={Science of Computer Programming},volume={214},year={2021},}
@article{DuranEtAl15,author={Dur{\'a}n, Francisco and Moreno-Delgado, Antonio and Orejas, Fernando and Zschaler, Steffen},title={Amalgamation of Domain Specific Languages with Behaviour},doi={10.1016/j.jlamp.2015.09.005},url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jlamp.2015.09.005},journal={Journal of Logical and Algebraic Methods in Programming},year={2017},volume={86},number={1},pages={208--235},}
@inproceedings{KosiolEtAl23,author={Kosiol, Jens and Str{\"u}ber, Daniel and Taentzer, Gabriele and Zschaler, Steffen},title={Finding the Right Way to {Rome}: Effect-oriented Graph Transformation},booktitle={16th International Conference on Graph Transformation (ICGT 2023)},year={2023},}
@inproceedings{KosiolEtAl20,author={Kosiol, Jens and Str{\"u}ber, Daniel and Taentzer, Gabriele and Zschaler, Steffen},title={Graph Consistency as a Graduated Property: Consistency-Sustaining and -Improving Graph Transformations},booktitle={Proc. Int'l Conf. on Graph Transformations (ICGT'20)},year={2020},}
2017
GTS Families for the Flexible Composition of Graph Transformation Systems
@inproceedings{ZschalerDuran17a,author={Zschaler, Steffen and Dur{\'a}n, Francisco},title={{GTS} Families for the Flexible Composition of Graph Transformation Systems},pages={208--225},doi={10.1007/978-3-662-54494-5_12},url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54494-5_12},editor={Huisman, Marieke and Rubin, Julia},booktitle={20th Int'l Conf. Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering (FASE'17)},year={2017},publisher={Springer Berlin Heidelberg},address={Berlin, Heidelberg},isbn={978-3-662-54494-5},}
@inproceedings{SalayEtAl16,author={Salay, Rick and Zschaler, Steffen and Chechik, Marsha},title={Correct Reuse of Transformations is Hard to Guarantee},pages={107--122},doi={10.1007/978-3-319-42064-6_8},url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42064-6_8},editor={van Gorp, Pieter and Engels, Gregor},booktitle={Proc. 9th Int'l Conf Model Transformations (ICMT'16)},publisher={Springer International Publishing},isbn={978-3-319-42064-6},year={2016},}
@inproceedings{SalayEtAl15,author={Salay, Rick and Zschaler, Steffen and Chechik, Marsha},title={Transformation reuse: What is the intent?},booktitle={Proc. 4th Workshop on the Analysis of Model Transformations (AMT'15)},year={2015},}
2014
Towards Constraint-Based Model Types: A Generalised Formal Foundation for Model Genericity
Steffen Zschaler
In Proc. 2nd Workshop on View-Based, Aspect-Oriented and Orthographic Software Modelling (VAO’14), 2014
@inproceedings{Zschaler14,author={Zschaler, Steffen},title={Towards Constraint-Based Model Types: A Generalised Formal Foundation for Model Genericity},editor={Atkinson, Colin and Burger, Erik and Goldschmidt, Thomas and Reussner, Ralf},booktitle={Proc. 2nd Workshop on View-Based, Aspect-Oriented and Orthographic Software Modelling (VAO'14)},year={2014},}
@inproceedings{DuranEtAl12,author={Dur{\'a}n, Francisco and Zschaler, Steffen and Troya, Javier},title={On the Reusable Specification of Non-functional Properties in {DSLs}},pages={332--351},editor={Czarnecki, Krzysztof and Hedin, G{\"o}rel},booktitle={Proc. 5th Int'l Conf. on Software Language Engineering (SLE'12)},publisher={Springer},series={LNCS},volume={7745},year={2013},}
2012
On the modularity and reusability of the rule-based specification of QoS properties of systems
In Prelimiary Proc. 21st Int’l Workshop on Algebraic Development Techniques (WADT’2012) – Technical Report Universidad Complutense de Madrid #TR-08/12, 2012
@inproceedings{DuranEtAl12b,author={Duran, Francisco and Zschaler, Steffen},title={On the modularity and reusability of the rule-based specification of {QoS} properties of systems},booktitle={Prelimiary Proc. 21st Int'l Workshop on Algebraic Development Techniques (WADT'2012) -- Technical Report Universidad Complutense de Madrid \#TR-08/12},year={2012},}
@misc{ZschalerDuran13,author={Zschaler, Steffen and Durán, Francisco},title={Verifiable Modularisation of DSMLs},howpublished={Poster at 13th Int'l Conf. on Aspect-Oriented Software Development (Modularity'13)},year={2013},}