Approaches for Model Transformation Reuse: Factorization and Composition

Reusability is one of the principal software quality factors. In the context of model driven development (MDD), reuse of model transformations is also considered a key activity to achieve productivity and quality. It is necessary to devote important research efforts to find out appropriate reusability mechanisms for transformation tools and languages. In this paper we present two approaches for reusing model transformation definitions. Firstly, we tackle the creation of related model transformations, showing how the factorization of common parts can be achieved. Secondly, we describe a proposal on the composition of existing, separated transformation definitions so that they can be used to solve a concrete transformation problem. We illustrate both proposals with examples taken from the development of a software product line for adventure games, which has been implemented using the modularization mechanisms of the RubyTL transformation language.