A Middleware Independent Service Modeling and a Model Transformation Framework

One of the reasons enterprise software is difficult to change is because it relies on middleware services. Middleware makes the rest of the application simpler but then the application depends on the middleware. Migrating existing software to new middleware technology requires significant software redesign, rewriting and testing. This dissertation follows the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) initiative from the Object Management Group (OMG). The MDA separates business or application logic from underlying platform technology by defining application models at two levels; a Platform Independent Model (PIM) and a Platform Specific Model (PSM). The dissertation focuses on the middleware independent aspect of the platform. By specifying common services using UML profiles that do not depend on specific middleware technology and providing separate transformations for each service, it is possible to develop business software models at a middleware independent level and to use transformers to map a PIM onto a middleware specific implementation. The Mercator model transformation tool and framework help two kinds of developers. This first kind is modelers who use the tool to edit PIMs and use common object services packaged as profiles. The second kind is model compiler developers who define profiles and create transformers that translate the PIMs into middleware specific implementation. The framework provides the profile definition and transformation structure as well as model manipulation APIs that allow model compiler developers to plug in new object services and/or new transformations of existing services. PIMs no longer contain middleware specific information. This information is customizable and kept separately in annotation files. Our contributions in this research are: * A systematic method to define middleware independent object services. * Profiles for object persistence, naming, distribution, transaction and messaging services. These profiles contain stereotypes, APIs, annotations and model transformers. * A novel, lightweight, stereotype-triggered model transformation framework that allows object service transformers to plug-in to manipulate model elements. * A modeling language based on eMOF with support for UML profiles and viewpoints. * A Mercator tool that implements the framework. We believe that this research is a step towards the realization of the MDA approach