An Evaluation of ADLs on Modeling Patterns for Software Architecture

Architecture patterns provide solutions to recurring design problems at the architecture level. In order to model patterns during software architecture design, one may use a number of existing Architecture Description Languages (ADLs), including the UML, a generic language but also a de facto industry standard. Unfortunately, there is little explicit support offered by such languages to model architecture patterns, mostly due to the inherent variability that patterns entail. In this paper, we analyze the support that few selected languages offer in modeling a limited set of architecture patterns with respect to four specific criteria: syntax, visualization, variability, and extensibility. The results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the selected ADLs for modeling architecture patterns in software design