A Meta-Model Based Automatic Conceptual Model-To-Model Transformation Methodology

Since model-based engineering theories and techniques becoming mature gradually, diverse engineering domains have adopted the idea of employing modelling and model transformations to help simulate and analyze domain specific problems. Consequently, substantial numbers of modelling techniques have been developed. These modelling techniques define specific semantic and syntactic representations. Moreover, models are normally built to represent systems from diverse domains. Both the conceptual dissimilarities between modelling techniques and between diverse systems determine the particularity of models. In model transformation process, distinguishing the conceptual difference from both semantic and syntactic aspects is a time-consuming process relying mainly on manual effort. In order to remove the manual effort from model transformation process, this paper proposes a generic automatic conceptual model-to-model transformation methodology. This methodology employs semantic and syntactic checking measurements to automatically detect the conceptual dissimilarities, and aims to solve both domain specific problems and cross-domain problems. A refined meta-model based model transformation process is defined to better use the two checking measurements.