A Proxy Approach to External Model Repository Integration in Eclipse EMF Infrastructure

Abstract. Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) has become a very popular environment for the implementation of a structured model, which has resulted in increased need for integration with other modeling environments. In this paper, we describe a method for direct integration of external model repositories in the EMF infrastructure. Our approach is based on the application of the proxy pattern to extend the functionality of EMF base objects and to provide a runtime synchronization of the model data with the repository. The approach presented here allows existing applications to interchange model data seamlessly with EMF, thus giving access to the services offered by EMF technologies. On the other hand, EMF-based applications can benefit from the services provided by external repositories and applications (for example, efficient model-to-model transformation implementation) without the need to adjust the application code. Applicability of the solution introduced is analyzed at the end of the paper. The approach has been successfully applied in the metamodel-based tool building platform METAclipse