Implementing a MOF-Based Metamodeling Environment Using Graph Transformations

Versatile model-based design demands languages and tools which are suitable for the creation, manipulation, transformation, and composition of domain-specific modeling languages and domain models. The Meta Object Facility (MOF) forms the cornerstone of the OMG’s Model Driven Architecture (MDA) as the standard metamodeling language for the specification of domain-specific languages. We have implemented MOF v1.4 as an alternative metamodeling language for the Generic Modeling Environment (GME), the flagship tool of Model Integrated Computing (MIC). Our implementation utilizes model-to-model transformations specified with the Graph Rewriting and Transformation toolsuite (GReAT) to translate between MOF and the UML-based GME metamodeling language. The technique described by this paper illustrates the role graph transformations can play in interfacing MIC technology to new and evolving modeling standards.