Abstract
We present a taxonomy of the variability mechanisms offered by modeling languages. The definition of a formal language encompasses a syntax and a semantic domain as well as the mapping that relates them, thus language variabilities are classified according to which of those three pillars they address. This work furthermore proposes a framework to explicitly document and manage the variation points and their corresponding variants of a variable modeling language. The framework enables the systematic study of various kinds of variabilities and their interdependencies. Moreover, it allows a methodical customization of a language, for example, to a given application domain. The taxonomy of variability is explicitly of interest for the UML to provide a more precise understanding of its variation points.
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Cengarle, M.V., Grönniger, H., Rumpe, B. (2009). Variability within Modeling Language Definitions. In: Schürr, A., Selic, B. (eds) Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems. MODELS 2009. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5795. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04425-0_54
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