Generic and Domain-Specific Model Refactoring Using a Model Transformation Engine

Summary

Refactoring is an essential approach toward improving the internal structure of a software system while preserving its external behavior. Traditional refactoring techniques have focused on the implementation stage, with source code as the primary artifact of the refactoring process. However, a recent trend is to apply the concepts of refactoring to higher levels of abstraction. Consequently, model refactoring is emerging as a desirable means to improve design models using behavior-preserving transformations.

This chapter describes a practical approach toward implementing model-level refactoring. A model transformation engine has been developed and provides a generalized underlying refactoring tool for manipulating models. A model refactoring browser is integrated within the model transformation engine to enable the automation and customization of various refactoring methods for either generic models or domain-specific models. A result of this work is the capability to perform model refactoring rapidly using user-specified transformation rules.