Specifications, not meta-models

ABSTRACTIn a model-driven development, software engineers will have to manage multiple artifacts expressed in several languages. Current meta-modelling and concrete syntax standards fail to adequately preserve a link between artifacts and the languages in which they are expressed, potentially leading to inconsistencies and misunderstandings both in the production and reuse of artifacts. Standards such as XMI and JMI permit the meta-model of an artifact to be accessed. However, such meta-models primarily define the syntax of a language. A full semantic definition requires a supporting document, the language specification, which is typically not explicitly referenced. In this paper we argue that the role of meta-models and specifications should be combined to eliminate this ambiguity. We describe the possible impact on OMG standards and standardisation processes that this would have. We present an open-source project that implements this philosophy, and a case-study in which a domain-specific language is used to express service-level agreements, the legalistic nature of which imposes strong requirements for semantic accessibility.