A UML and colored petri nets integrated modeling and analysis approach using graph transformation

Abstract

Nowadays, UML is considered to be the standardized language for object-oriented modeling and analysis. However, UML cannot be used for automatic analyses and simulation. In this paper, we propose an approach for transforming UML statechart and collaboration diagrams to Colored Petri net models. This transformation aims to bridge the gap between informal notation (UML diagrams) and more formal notation (Colored Petri net models) for analysis purposes. It produces highlystructured, graphical, and rigorously-analyzable models that facilitate early detection of errors such as deadlock and livelock. The approach is based on graph transformations where the input and output of the transformation process are graphs. The meta-modeling tool AToM3 is used. A case study is presented to illustrate our approach. ©JOT 2010.