Safe Reuse in Modeling Language Engineering using Model Subtyping with OCL Constraints

Low-code  software  development  promisesrapid  delivery  of  software  cloud  applications  by  em-ploying  domain-specific  languages  (DSLs),  requiringminimal traditional coding. Model-driven engineering(MDE) provides tools, modeling notations and practicessuited for engineering such DSLs, both from a syntacticand semantic perspective. However, low-code softwaredevelopment is heavily reliant on software reuse. It isimperative to provide safe mechanisms that guaranteevalid semantic reuse of structural components and theirbehaviour, most often in a stepwise manner.This  article  presents  a  semantic  reuse  techniquebased  on  model  subtyping  over  metamodels  to  man-age correct model-driven engineering of DSLs. Modelsubtyping is generalized to structural semantics by con-sidering OCL constraints. Moreover, model subtyping isgeneralized to behavioural semantics by considering spec-ifications of model transformation operations, which mayencode operational or translational semantics. Modelsubtyping facilitates structural and behavioural refine-ment. It has been implemented atop a bounded modelchecker, realizing a semi-decidable procedure for verify-ing that DSL elements are safely reused. The algorithmfinds semantic witnesses of inconsistencies when refine-ment  principles  are  not  satisfied,  fostering  a  correctstepwise engineering of DSLs. Moreover, the algorithmproduces an extension metamodel that permits theas-isreuse  of  implementations  of  model  transformationoperation specifications. Finally, the versatility of themodel subtyping technique is illustrated with commonuse cases extracted from the research literature.