Fundamental Limitations in Domain-Specific Modeling Language Evolution

In this paper we address language engineering issues surrounding domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs). By definition, such languages track the domain, meaning that changes to the domain require changes to the DSML in order to provide an intuitive specification of domain-specific models. For this work, our primary focus is on fundamental limitations that affect the preservation of semantics during domain model evolution. We specifically address fundamental limitations in semantics-preserving transformations, and/or the implementation of algorithms that specify such transformations. This work has implications for language engineers who are planning for the maintenance of models, or designing model transformations for the purpose of preserving semantics. We provide a brief representative example from the discipline of hybrid systems, where such results can be interpreted.