Using Reflection to Implement in Maude a Rewriting-Based Validation Tool for UML+OCL Static Class Diagrams

In this paper we present the ITP/OCL tool, a rewritingbased tool that supports automatic validation of UML static class diagrams with respect to OCL invariants. From a conceptual point of view, the ITP/OCL tool is directly based on the equational specification of UML+OCL class diagrams developed in [11], according to which: i) class and object diagrams are specified as membership equational theories; ii) invariants are represented as Boolean terms over extensions of those theories; and iii) checking invariants over object diagrams is reduced to inspecting whether the corresponding Boolean terms rewrite to true or false. From an implementation point of view, the ITP/OCL tool is written entirely in Maude [8], making extensive use of its reflective capabilities to implement the user interface, thanks to which the tool’s underlying equational semantics remains hidden to the user who only must be familiar with the standard notions of UML diagrams and OCL invariants.