Presentation at the 2nd International Conference on Models and Ontology-based Design of Protocols, Architectures and Services (MOPAS), 2011.04, Budapest, Hungary

1. Towards Semantic
Interoperability of
Graphical DSMLs for
Telecommunications
Service Design
Ph.D. st. (3rd year): V. CHIPRIANOV
Supervisor: Y. KERMARREC
Co-supervisor: S. ROUVRAIS
12th Mai 2011

2. Agenda
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
1 Telecom Service Design Challenges in a Software World
2 DSML Interoperability
3 Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability
4 Discussion
page 2 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

3. Agenda
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
1 Telecom Service Design Challenges in a Software World
2 DSML Interoperability
3 Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability
4 Discussion
page 3 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

4. Telecom Service
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Tool
Vendor
TELECOM
SERVICE
Service Service
Developer Subscriber
Service Provider
Figure: Telecom Service as Complex, Multi-facet System.
page 4 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

5. Roles in Telecom Service Life Cycle
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
End User
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
TELECOM
SERVICE
Service Service
Developer Subscriber
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: Roles, Viewpoints in Telecom Service Life Cycle, from [Hållstrand and Martin, 1994].
page 5 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

6. Telecom Service Life Cycle
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
End User
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
TELECOM
SERVICE
Service Service
Developer Subscriber
LIFE CYCLE
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: Telecom Service Life Cycle.
page 6 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

7. Needs in Telecom Service Life Cycle
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
cost
quality
generic functionality
tools
integration
platform
framework End User providing
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
TELECOM
SERVICE
reuse security
prototyping reliability
customization performance Service
Service
Developer Subscriber
service LIFE CYCLE
interaction
sales
marketing
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: Needs, Concerns in Telecom Service Life Cycle, from [Hållstrand and Martin, 1994].
page 7 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

8. Role Interoperability Issues
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
End User ?
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
? ?
Service Service
Developer ? ? Subscriber
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: Role Language Interoperability.
page 8 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

9. Agenda
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
1 Telecom Service Design Challenges in a Software World
2 DSML Interoperability
3 Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability
4 Discussion
page 9 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

10. Domain Specific Modeling Language
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
DSML
is a graphical language:
that offers, through appropriate notations and abstractions,
expressive power focused on a particular problem domain,
to visualize, specify, construct and document the artifacts
of a software-intensive system.
(after definitions of DSL [Deursen et al., 2000] and ML
[Booch et al., 2005])
page 10 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

11. Metamodeling Approach for DSML Definition
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Meta-Models for Language Definition Model
after [Clark et al., 2001] Transformation
the automatic ge-
neration of a tar-
get model from a
source model, ac-
cording to a set of
transformation rules.
[Kleppe et al., 2003]
page 11 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

12. Role Interoperability → DSML
Interoperability
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Role Interoperability DSML Interoperability
Issues
Tool
End User ?
֒→ Interoperability between:
Vendor Manufacturer
syntax (as Meta-Model)
? ?
Service Service semantics (as Meta-Model?)
Developer ? ? Subscriber
of DSMLs.
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Interoperability
the ability of two or more tools to exchange models so as
to use them in order to operate effectively together. (after
[Peristeras and Tarabanis, 2006])
page 12 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

13. Syntactic Interoperability
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Model
End User Transformation
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
Model
Transformation
Model
Transformation
Service Service
Model
Developer Model Subscriber
Transformation Transformation
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: DSML Syntax Interoperability through Model Transformation
page 13 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

14. Semantic Interoperability
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
End User ?
Tool
Vendor Manufacturer
? ?
Service Service
Developer ? ? Subscriber
Network
Provider
Service Provider
Figure: DSML Semantics Interoperability through WHAT?.
page 14 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

15. Agenda
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
1 Telecom Service Design Challenges in a Software World
2 DSML Interoperability
3 Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability
4 Discussion
page 15 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

16. Ontologies
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Ontology
a formal description of a domain, intended for sharing among
different applications, and expressed in a language that can be
used for reasoning. [Welty, 2003]
Using Ontologies with Meta-Models:
Model enrichment: describe the static semantics of
DSMLs;
Semi-automatic identification of mappings between
Meta-Models: discover a common reference ontology.
page 16 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

17. An Approach for Ensuring Semantic Interop
between Static Semantics of DSMLs
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Role i Role i+1
Model
Model 1: Lift
1: Lift Transformation
Transformation
Figure: Step 1. Lifting Meta-Models into Ontologies.
page 17 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

18. An Approach for Ensuring Semantic Interop
between Static Semantics of DSMLs
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Role i Role i+1
Model 2: Enrich Model
2: Enrich
Transformation Transformation
Model
Model 1: Lift
1: Lift Transformation
Transformation
Figure: Step 2. Enriching Ontologies.
page 18 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

19. An Approach for Ensuring Semantic Interop
between Static Semantics of DSMLs
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Role i Role i+1
3: Align 3: Align
Model 2: Enrich Model
2: Enrich
Transformation Transformation
Model
Model 1: Lift
1: Lift Transformation
Transformation
Figure: Step 3. Aligning Ontologies.
page 19 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

20. An Approach for Ensuring Semantic Interop
between Static Semantics of DSMLs
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Role i Role i+1
3: Align 3: Align
Model 2: Enrich Model
2: Enrich
Transformation Transformation
Higher-Order
4: Generate Model
Transformation
Model
Model 1: Lift
1: Lift Transformation
Transformation
Model Transformation
Figure: Step 4. Generating Model Transformations.
page 20 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

21. Agenda
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
1 Telecom Service Design Challenges in a Software World
2 DSML Interoperability
3 Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability
4 Discussion
page 21 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

22. Discussion
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Advantages:
Generalizable to other domains than Telecommunications.
Co-evolution of syntactic and semantic bridges that ensure
interoperability between DSMLs.
Caveats:
This co-evolution depends greatly on the shared ontology
between views. If this would be poor or even empty, the
interoperability bridge would be narrow.
֒→ This approach is beneficial especially in the case of families
of modeling languages.
[Chiprianov and Kermarrec, 2009b], [Chiprianov et al., 2009],
[Chiprianov and Kermarrec, 2009a], [Chiprianov et al., 2010],
[Chiprianov et al., 2011]
page 22 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

23. Future Developments
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Towards Dynamic Semantic Interoperability:
Ontologies?
Sequence/Activity Diagrams?
...?
page 23 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

24. Publications I
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Chiprianov, V. and Kermarrec, Y. (2009a).
An Approach for Constructing a Domain Definition Metamodel with ATL.
In 1st Intl. Wksh on Model Transformation with ATL (MtATL), pages 18–33, Nantes, France.
Chiprianov, V. and Kermarrec, Y. (2009b).
Model-based DSL Frameworks: A Simple Graphical Telecommunications Specific Modeling Language.
In IDM, French Colloq. on Model Driven Engineering, pages 179–186, Nancy, France.
Chiprianov, V., Kermarrec, Y., and Alff, P. (2009).
A Model-Driven Approach for Telecommunications Network Services Definition.
In Proc. of the 15th Open European Summer School and IFIP TC6. 6 Wksh on The Internet of the Future,
volume 5733 of LNCS, pages 199–207, Barcelona, Spain.
Chiprianov, V., Kermarrec, Y., and Rouvrais, S. (2010).
Meta-tools for Software Language Engineering: A Flexible Collaborative Modeling Language for Efficient
Telecommunications Service Design.
In Wksh on Flexible Modeling Tools (FlexiTools), at the 32nd Intl. Conf. on Software Engineering (ICSE),
Cape Town, South Africa.
Chiprianov, V., Kermarrec, Y., and Rouvrais, S. (2011).
Towards semantic interoperability of graphical DSMLs for telecommunications service design.
In 2nd Intl. Conf. on Models and Ontology-based Design of Protocols, Architectures and Services (MOPAS),
Budapest, Hungary.
page 24 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

25. Bibliography I
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J., and Jacobson, I. (2005).
Unified Modeling Language User Guide.
Addison-Wesley Professional, Reading, MA, USA.
Clark, T., Evans, A., Kent, S., and Sammut, P. (2001).
The MMF approach to engineering object-oriented design languages.
In Wksh on Language Descriptions, Tools and Applications (LDTA2001).
Deursen, A. V., Klint, P., and Visser, J. (2000).
Domain-specific languages: an annotated bibliography.
SIGPLAN Not., 35(6):26–36.
Hållstrand, J. and Martin, D. (1994).
Industrial requirements on a service creation environment.
In Proceedings of the 2nd Intl. Conf. on Intelligence in Broadband Services and Networks: Towards a
Pan-European Telecommunication Service Infrastructure, pages 17–25, London, UK.
Kleppe, A. G., Warmer, J., and Bast, W. (2003).
MDA Explained: The Model Driven Architecture: Practice and Promise.
Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Boston, MA, USA.
page 25 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design

26. Bibliography II
Challenges DSML Interoperability Our Approach Towards Semantic Interoperability Discussion
Peristeras, V. and Tarabanis, K. (2006).
The Connection, Communication, Consolidation, Collaboration Interoperability Framework (C4IF) For
Information Systems Interoperability.
Intl. Jour. of Interoperability in Business Information Systems, 1(1):61–72.
Welty, C. (2003).
Ontology research.
AI Magazine, 24(3):11–12.
page 26 DSML Semantic Interoperability: Telecom Service Design