Reconciling TGGs with QVT

Abstract

The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is an approach to develop software based on different models. There are separate models for the business logic and for platform specific details. Moreover, code can be generated automatically from these models. This makes transformations a core technology for MDA. QVT (Query/View/Transformation) is the transformation technology recently proposed for this purpose by the OMG. TGGs (Triple Graph Grammars) are another transformation technology proposed in the mid-nineties, used for example in the FUJABA CASE tool. In contrast to many other transformation technologies, both QVT and TGGs declaratively define the relation between two models. With this relation definition, a transformation engine can execute a transformation in both directions and, based on the same definition, can also propagate changes from one model to the other. In this paper, we compare the concepts of QVT and TGGs. It turns out that TGGs and QVT have many concepts in common. In fact, fundamental parts of QVT-Core can be implemented by a TGG transformation engine. Moreover, we discuss how both technologies could profit from each other. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.