Constructing Comparable Conceptual Models with Domain Specific Languages

The scientific discussion on the comparison of conceptual models has mainly focused on existing modelling artefacts so far. Only minimal assumptions are made on the underlying modelling languages. However, we argue that if models are constructed with a particular type of language the model comparison process can be significantly simplified. For this purpose we introduce the class of operational domain specific languages. We formally show that with this language class: (1) type, synonym, homonym, and abstraction conflicts are eliminated as well as (2) the semantic model comparison can be traced back to the syntactic one. Based on the conceptual modelling language PICTURE we demonstrate that advanced semantical operations are facilitated by this language class.