We present MEMOCenterNG1, an integrated, full-featured modeling environment containing 11 built-in modeling languages together with meta-modeling support for creating new languages and corresponding diagram editors. Tools for analysis, model transformation and code generation are included. A comprehensive multi-language modeling tool Large modeling projects typically use multiple modeling languages simultaneously to express a variety of aspects of a modeled system. This holds true in diverse types of modeling projects, especially in business process modeling, which unites conceptual business aspects with technical realizations. Model-driven software development bene ts from multiple interrelated modeling perspectives to gain a coherent and as complete view as possible on the system to be developed. To foster large modeling projects, an integrated modeling environment tool is desirable to reduce e orts in combining multiple model editors operating on shared model content. Semantic integrity is an indispensable requirement for multi-perspective modeling [6], that means, when di erent model editors reference the same concept (e.g., a person displayed both in an organization structure diagram and in a process diagram), the model editor components need to share common information about its unique identity. The need for semantic integrity requires model editors to work on top of a common set of meta-concepts [7] which ensures semantically valid relations among model data. With MEMOCenterNG, we present a comprehensive modeling environment which integrates an extensible set of modeling languages on the basis of 1 MEMOCenterNG is named after the MEMO enterprise modeling method [6]. \NG" stands for \Next Generation", MEMOCenterNG is the successor to an earlier MEMOCenter prototype application.
a consolidated common meta-model API. The provided modeling languages are suitable to express knowledge about a system on three di erent levels of abstraction from multiple interdependent perspectives.
The available levels of abstraction provided by built-in modeling languages
in MEMOCenterNG are:
1. A meta-modeling layer which allows for creating new modeling languages
and corresponding diagram editors, and also internally de nes other built-in
modeling lnaguages.
2. A set of built-in modeling languages for modeling the organizational
environment of involved actors, their goals, behaviour and involved resources.
This organizational abstraction layer is provided by domain-speci c
modeling languages of the MEMO modeling method [
Figure 1 gives an overview on the component architecture of MEMOCenterNG, as it evolves from applying the MEMO Meta Modeling Language (MML) for language creation.
implemented through generate Ecore instance compile create meta model specify concrete syntax modify/add code test model editor
MEMOCenterNG contains a total of 11 modeling languages on all three
abstraction layers. This set is composed of 7 domain speci c languages as
proposed by the MEMO method [
Environment
MML Editor
MEMO Center
languages created with the MML. Supplemented by third-party tooling
components, models can be analyzed, model-transformations can be carried out,
and code-generation mechanisms are available to generatively create software in
a model-driven development process. Altogether, MEMOCenterNG forms a
comprehensive environment for modeling on multiple layers of abstraction from
multiple perspectives, store and manage interrelated models in a common
environment, and further process model data inside the same platform. In
modeldriven software development projects, generated artefacts can furthermore be
edited, compiled and packaged within the same tool. The platform is based on
the Eclipse [
By means of the included MEMO Meta Modeling Language (MML, [
Since all generated components run in the same environment as
MEMOCenterNG, models and generated software components may even re ectively
refer to MEMOCenterNG's models. This allows models to be integrated into
software components at runtime as part of a self-referential information system
architecture [
To express the outer context of an incident to be modeled, organization modeling
languages capture people's goals, their behavior, organizational structure and
resources of the modeled context. Such types of models play an important role
in enterprise modeling (EM, [
MEMOCenterNG comes pre-packaged with interrelated modeling
languages of the MEMO OrgML [
To model physical and non-tangible resources in business contexts, the ResML
[
The MEMO Meta Modeling Language (MML, [
Full-featured diagram editors can automatically be generated by a single
mouse-click from MML models within the user-interface of MEMOCenterNG's
MML editor. These generated diagram editors are fully downwards-compatible
to the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF, [
In order to take a traditional modeling view on a low abstraction level,
MEMOCenterNG contains three classical formal systems modeling languages, Entity
Relationship Models (ERM, [
Each of the implementation-level modeling languages comes with pre-packaged analysis and code-generation functionality. The ERM model editor allows to generate a relational database schema from ERM models as a sequence of executable SQL data declaration statements, which subsequently may be executed from inside the Eclipse platform to deploy the initial database. The DFD editor comes with basic analysis capabilities, and from UML class diagrams, the source code for Java classes can be generated.
Together with the software development features of the underlying Eclipse
[
All components of MEMOCenterNG are based on the Eclipse Modeling Project
[
A beta-version of MEMOCenterNG is available for download at http://www. wi-inf.uni-duisburg-essen.de/FGFrank/download/memo/. Please request password information from the authors.
We have presented a modeling tool that o ers multiple modeling languages in an integrated environment, based on a meta-model supported language architecture and enriched by an easy-to-use meta-model editor for speci c language enhancements.
A common language architecture ensures the semantic integration of concepts across multiple languages. By incorporating meta modeling and the creation of new modeling languages into the feature spectrum of the modeling tool, a new degree of exibility and adaptability to future requirements part of the application. This makes MEMOCenterNG a comprehensive, full-featured integrated modeling environment for multiple types of modeling projects, including modeldriven software development approaches. Currently, the tool is successfully used for teaching purposes and in medium-sized business projects carried out in cooperation with our research group.
In further research work, we intend to develop and integrate additional modeling languages, e.g., for designing indicator systems that are integrated with models of business processes and IT resources. We also plan to extend the framework with elaborate support for method engineering by integrating model editors with corresponding process editors.