Modeling UML Template Classes with FoCaLiZe

UML is the defacto standard language to graphically describe systems in an object oriented way. Once an application has been specified, Model Driven Architecture (MDA) techniques can be applied to generate code from such specifications. Because UML lacks formal basis to analyze and check model consistency, it is pertinent to choose a formal target language (in the MDA process) to enable proofs and verification techniques. To achieve this goal, we have associated to UML the FoCaLiZe language, an object-oriented development environment using a proof-based formal approach. This paper focuses on a subset of UML constructors, the template classes. These latter allow developers to create generic models that can be instantiated for actual models through a binding relationship. Specifically, we propose a formal transformation of UML template classes annotated with OCL constraints into FoCaLiZe specification. The proposed mapping directly supports most of UML template features.