Formalizing high-level service-oriented architectural models using a dynamic ADL

Abstract

Despite the well-known advantages of applying the MDA approach, particularly when applied to the development of SOA-based systems, there are still some gaps in the process that need to be filled. Specifically, when modelling the system at the PIM level, we have an architectural description at a high level of abstraction, as it must only comprise technologically independent models. But this architecture cannot be directly validated, as we must transform it into a PSM version before being able to execute it. In order to solve this issue, we propose to formalize the architectural model using Domain Specific Language, an ADL which supports the description of dynamic, adaptive and evolvable architectures, such as SOA itself. Our choice, π-ADL, allows for the definition of executable versions of the architecture; and therefore providing this specification implies having a prototype of the system at the PIM level. This appears as a perfect way of getting an executable yet completely technology neutral version of the architecture. We illustrate this by discussing a real-world case study, in which a service-oriented messaging system is modelled at the PIM level and then specified using its π-ADL counterpart; the result can then be used to validate the architecture at the right abstraction level. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.