An Architecture to Define Graphical Metaphors for Metamodels

Domain-Specific Modeling is advancing with tools such as GME (Generic Modeling Environment) and MetaEdit+ among others. The key feature of these tools is that the modeling ontology is close to the problem so that solutions can be designed or developed in a specific domain, where the analyst or the developer is an expert. MOMENT is a model management platform that permits the definition of domain-specific models following an algebraic approach. In this paper, we present an architecture to integrate MOMENT into an industrial visual modeling environment so that their graphical capabilities can be used to visually define algebraic models. To achieve this goal, we identify the common elements of a visual modeling environment, as well as the associations between them and the formal elements of the MOMENT platform. These associations are stored in the same platform using it as a UML-like repository. An implementation for a specific modeling environment has been developed. This solution is presented by defining a graphical view (a graphical metaphor) for a specific algebraic metamodel through its interfaces.