A Generic Model of Computation Framework for Model Execution and Dynamic Analysis – GeMoC

The state-of-the art for complex systems design partially addresses the issues cited above. Model-driven engineering (MDE) offers a rigorous and homogeneous formalism for the definition of domain specific modeling languages (DSMLs). This partly addresses issue 1 by providing means to leverage domain expertise when designing complex systems and issue 3 because it is possible to evolve or create new DSMLs.
Models of Computation and Communication (MoCC) have been studied for a long time. The most common MoCCs (discrete-event, synchronous reactive, …) have been identified as well as their fitness for dealing with specific concerns. The major issue here is that the scientific community constantly proposes variations over the classical MoCCs to address new classes of problems, but there is no easy way to integrate the new MoCCs in existing frameworks to support the evolution of the system.

GEMOC has the ambition to propose an innovative environment for the design of complex software-intensive systems by providing (i) a formal framework that integrates state-of-the-art MDE and MoCC to reason over the composition of heterogeneous concerns; (ii) an open-source design and modeling environment associated to a well-defined method for the definition of DSMLs, MoCCs and rigorous composition of all concerns for simulation purposes.

This requires addressing two major scientific issues in GEMOC: the design and verification of a formal framework to combine several different DSMLs relying on distinct MoCCs; the design and validation of a methodology for DSMLs and MoCC development.

GEMOC aims at participating in the development of next generation MDE environments through a rigorous, tool-supported process for the definition of executable DSMLs and the simulation of heterogeneous models. The GEMOC studio will be open-source and domain-independent, nad based on a formal hierarchical model for the composition of models defined with different DSMLs, over heterogeneous MoCCs. The platform will be validated on industrial use cases representative of the expected usage of GEMOC.

Cf. gemoc.org/publications

GeMoC focuses on three design and simulation issues that must be handled effectively for the construction of complex systems:
1 Consider various concerns. Multiple stakeholders are involved in the design process, each with a specific domain expertise. Stakeholders express their perspective with their own language, which then must be composed for global analysis.
2 Integrate heterogeneous parts. Complex systems integrate different devices specialized for different applications to deliver a global service. Thus, communication, synchronization must be modeled to compose heterogeneous parts and characterize the emerging behavior.
3 Deal with evolution and openness. It is not possible to establish an exhaustive, finite list of domain languages, communication and timing models. Thus, tools and environments must be open and allow the evolution or the creation of domain languages and communication models.
The state-of-the art for complex systems design partially addresses the issues cited above. Model-driven engineering (MDE) offers a rigorous and homogeneous formalism for the definition of domain specific modeling languages (DSMLs). This partly addresses issue 1 by providing means to leverage domain expertise when designing complex systems and issue 3 because it is possible to evolve or create new DSMLs.
Models of Computation and Communication (MoCC) have been studied for a long time. The most common MoCCs (discrete-event, synchronous reactive, …) have been identified as well as their fitness for dealing with specific concerns. The major issue here is that the scientific community constantly proposes variations over the classical MoCCs to address new classes of problems, but there is no easy way to integrate the new MoCCs in existing frameworks to support the evolution of the system.

GeMoC has the ambition to propose an innovative environment for the design of complex software-intensive systems by providing (i) a formal framework that integrates state-of-the-art MDE and MoCC to reason over the composition of heterogeneous concerns; (ii) an open-source design and modeling environment associated to a well-defined method for the definition of DSMLs, MoCCs and rigorous composition of all concerns for simulation purposes.

This requires addressing two major scientific issues in GeMoC: the design and verification of a formal framework to combine several different DSMLs relying on distinct MoCCs; the design and validation of a methodology for DSMLs and MoCC development.

In previous years, France has developed a leadership position in model-driven engineering. It is now critical for French research and industry to understand how the models defined within each DSML can communicate and be composed for global simulation, to keep its excellent position in the highly competitive international landscape for the construction of complex software-intensive systems. Existing work about the integration of heterogeneous MoCCs associated to one language must be extended to consider multiple DSMLs. This must be developed as a generic domain-independent platform for the simulation of heterogeneous DSMLs. Domain independence is critical to guarantee that the results are available to the various sectors of French economy that rely on the construction of complex systems.
GeMoC aims at participating in the development of next generation MDE environments through a rigorous, tool-supported process for the definition of executable DSMLs and the simulation of heterogeneous models. The GeMoC environment will be open-source and domain-independent, nad based on a formal hierarchical model for the composition of models defined with different DSMLs, over heterogeneous MoCCs. The platform will be validated on industrial use cases representative of the expected usage of GeMoC.
The GeMoC consortium gathers complementary expertise from the DSML and MoCC communities and benefits from the support of OPEES consortium for sustainable exploitation.