Automatic Translation from UML Specifications to B

The translation from UML specifications to B specifications may give a way to use jointly UML and B in an unified, practical and rigorous software development. We can formally analyse UML specifications via their corresponding B formal specifications. This point is significant because B support tools are available. We can also use UML specifications as a tool for building B specifications, so the development of B specifications become easier. So far, the rules for mapping data elements from UML specifications into B have been proposed. However, the problem of translating UML behavioral diagrams into B specifications has been an open issue. This point is the main concern in this paper. We present an approach to model UML behavioral concepts based on the B procedural refinement. This approach is the basis for translation schemes from UML specifications into B. Furthermore, the combination between the object refinement and the B data refinement is also investigated.