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The Object Constraint Language: Getting Your Models Ready for MDA View Larger Image | Jos Warmer, Anneke Kleppe
Addison-Wesley, Paperback, 2nd edition, Published August 2003, 206 pages, ISBN 0321179366 | List Price: $44.99
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In November 1997, the Object Management Group (OMG)
set a standard for object-oriented analysis and design facilities. The standard,
known as the Unified Modeling Language (UML), includes model diagrams, their
seman-tics, and an interchange format between CASE tools. Within UML, the Object
Constraint Language (OCL) is the standard for specifying expressions that add
vital information to object-oriented models and other object modeling artifacts.
In UML version 1.1, this information was thought
to be limited to con-straints, where a constraint is defined as a restriction
on one or more values of (part of) an object-oriented model or system. In UML
version 2 the under-standing is that there is far more additional information
that should be included in a model than constraints alone. Defining queries,
referencing values, or stating conditions and business rules in a model, is
all done by writing expressions, i.e. these are all expressed in OCL.
OCL has evolved from an expression language in
the Syntropy method through a business modeling language used within IBM until
it was included in UML in 1997. At that point in time it received its current
name. This name is currently well established and therefore it is not expedient
to change it to, for instance, Object Expression Language, although this
name would currently be more appropriate.
OCL has been used as an expression language for
object-oriented model-ing during the last six years. Today, a large number of
tools support the lan-guage. Since OCL was first conceived there have been many
changes and additions to the language. Lately this has led to a new version
of OCL, ver-sion 2.0, to accompany the new version of UML. OCL version 2.0 is
formally defined in the Object Constraint Language Specification OCL2002.
This book explains all features of this version of OCL.
Recently, the OMG has launched an initiative called
the Model Driven Architecture (MDA). The essence of the MDA approach is that
models are the basis for software development. To be able to work with this
architecture good, solid, consistent, and coherent models are a neccesity. Using
the com-bination of UML and OCL you are able to build such models.
In the many books that have been published on
the subject of UML, its expression language has not received the attention it
deserves. A first aim of this book is to fill this gap and to explain UML's
expression language, which supports the task of modeling object-oriented software
as much as the UML dia-grams. The second aim of this book is to introduce OCL
version 2.0 to a wider audience. Not everyone is pleased with reading a formal
standard, the informa-tion should be available in a more easy to read book.
The last aim of this book is to explain why the use of OCL is essential to the
application of MDA. Without OCL and the languages, transformations, etc. that
are all enabled by OCL, application of MDA is bound to fail.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
The book is meant to be a textbook and reference
manual for practitioners of object technology who find a need for more precise
modeling. This certainly includes persons that want to apply MDA principles.
These people will want to use OCL in their analysis and design tasks, most probably
within the context of UML but potentially with other graphical object modeling
languages. This book assumes that you have general knowledge of object-oriented
modeling, preferably UML. If you lack this knowledge, there are many books on
UML that you can read first.
HOW THIS BOOK SHOULD BE USED
Part 1 of this book explains how OCL can be put
to use. Anyone unfamiliar with OCL should read this part. An introduction to
the Model Driven Architecture is given and the key role OCL plays in that framework
is described. In this part OCL is explained in a relatively informal way, mostly
by example. Hints and tips are given on how to build models using OCL and on
how to implement these models. Part 2 constitutes a reference guide that describes
the OCL language com-pletely. If you are already familiar with OCL you can find
evrything you want to know about the new version of OCL in this part.
Appendix A is a reference on the terminology used
in this book. Appendix B is a reference on the syntax of the language. Finally,
appendix would be of interest for people who feel that the offical (concrete)
syntax of OCL could be improved. It gives an example of a different syntax,
called Business Modeling Syntax, that may be substituted for the offical syntax.
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