Towards generation of sequence diagrams from operation contracts and design patterns

A design pattern is a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design. It provides a template for solving a problem and can be used in many different situations. Design patterns help designers to reuse successful designs by basing new designs on prior experience. This research proposes a framework for generating UML sequence diagrams from requirements specified in the form of operation contracts, using design patterns as expert knowledge. Design patterns are represented using Ontology Web Language (OWL) and Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL). From input operation contracts and class diagrams, which are also represented in OWL, Jess Rule Engine is used for execution of SWRL rules to derive output sequence diagrams. An application of the framework is demonstrated.