A Modular Reference Structure for Component-based Architecture Description Languages

Metamodels are used to define languages, code generation and they serve as data structures for metamodel-centric software systems. In software engineering, these metamodels are crafted, evolved and extended, e.g., by further quality dimensions or structural features. However, an ad-hoc modeling approach does not properly support metamodel reuse by extension or composition. Nor does it enforce a proper modularization which helps with tackling complexity. We present an approach to design and extend metamodels for component-based architecture description languages in a modular way. The information which is to be metamodeled is divided into paradigm, domain, quality and analysis content. We constrain the usage of dependencies and give instructions how to modularize in accordance to concerns. Related approaches try to modularize and compose transformations, generators, and tools in general. However, in the field of metamodels, little support is given. Our approach is applied to several concerns of the Palladio Component Model and an extension thereof.