An integrated framework for checking the behaviour of fUML models using CSP

Abstract

Transforming UML models into a formal representation to check certain properties has been addressed many times in the literature. However, the lack of automatic formalization for executable UML models and provision of model checking results as modellerfriendly feedback has inhibited the practical use of such approaches in real life projects. In this paper we address those issues by performing the automatic formalization of the fUML (Foundational subset for executable UML) models into CSP without any interaction with the modeller, who should be isolated from the formal methods domain. The formal analysis provides the modeller with a UML sequence diagram that represents the model checking result in the case where an error has been found in the model. This work also considers the formalization of systems that depend on asynchronous communication between components in order to allow checking of the dynamic concurrent behaviour of systems.We have designed a comprehensive framework that is implemented as a plugin to MagicDraw (the CASE tool we use) that we call Compass. The framework depends on Epsilon as a model transformation tool that utilizes the Model Driven Engineering (MDE) approach. It also implements an optimization approach to be able to model check concurrent systems using FDR2, and at the same time comply with the fUML inter-object communication mechanism. In order to validate our frame-

Socio-technical formal analysis of TLS certificate validation in modern browsers

“…Not only does this aim at confirming the findings by an alternative verification means, but in particular at finding the most convincing route to translate UML activity diagrams automatically to a formal, executable language. This would make the methodology described above more mechanical, and there already exists work that can be leveraged upon [27].…”

Combining fUML and profiles for non-functional analysis based on model execution traces

“…The same limitation has been addressed by Abdelhalim et al [19]. In contrast to Benyahia et al [18], they do not propose an extension of the standard fUML execution model but rather present a model-based framework that translates fUML activities into communicating sequential processes (CSP) for performing a deadlock analysis detecting possible scenarios leading to deadlocks which are provided as UML sequence diagrams.…”

“…In the approach proposed by Romero and Ferreira [16], non-functional properties are annotated using the MARTE profile but, as stated by the authors themselves, they are ignored at the PIM level and are only considered when fUML-based PIMs are transformed into AADL models for sake of schedulability analysis (which is not feasible at the moment in fUML as stated in [18]). The approaches presented in [18] and [19] do not make use of UML profiles at all. However, in [18] the authors express their interests and efforts in providing a methodological and tooled framework that exploits UML profiles to deal with semantic variations of fUML and to support different model analyses directly in fUML (e.g., schedulability analysis).…”

Energy Consumption Analysis and Design of Energy-Aware WSN Agents in fUML

“…They illustrate how the standard fUML execution model, as well as the fUML VM, have to be extended for this purpose to explicitly incorporate a scheduler into fUML that, at each step of the model execution, determines the activity node to be executed next according to certain scheduling policies (e.g., first-in-first-out (FIFO)). The same limitation has been addressed by Abdelhalim et al [17]. In contrast to Benyahia et al [16], they do not propose an extension of the standard fUML execution model but rather present a model-based framework that translates fUML activities into communicating sequential processes (CSP) for performing a deadlock analysis detecting possible scenarios leading to deadlocks which are provided as UML sequence diagrams.…”