Formalizing the specification of model integrated program synthesis environments

Model integrated computing (MIC) is an effective and efficient method for developing, maintaining, and evolving large-scale computer-based systems (CBSs). One approach to MIC is to synthesize application programs from domain-specific models created using customized, model integrated program synthesis (MIPS) environments. The MultiGraph Architecture is a toolset for creating graphical domain-specific MIPS environments (DSMEs). By modeling the syntactic, semantic, and presentation requirements of a DSME, a metamodel is formed and used to synthesize the DSME itself, enabling design environment evolution in the face of changing domain requirements. Because both the domain-specific applications and the DSME are designed to evolve, efficient and safe large-scale computer-based systems development is possible over the entire lifetime of the CBS. This paper presents a method to represent DSME requirements using UML class diagrams and predicate logic constraint language expressions, and discusses automatic transformation of metamodel specifications into DSMEs