Title: Metamodel extension approach applied to the model-driven development of mobile applications

Authors: Ayoub Sabraoui; Anas Abouzahra; Karim Afdel

Addresses: Laboratory Computer Systems and Vision (LabSIV), Faculty of Science, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Souss-Massa, Morocco ' Digital Engineering Department, Aeronautics, Space and Defense Division, Altran South West, France ' Laboratory Computer Systems and Vision (LabSIV), Faculty of Science, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Souss-Massa, Morocco

Abstract: Mobile application development is one of the most promising domains in the software industry. The rapid growth of hardware and emerging technologies has resulted in a large number of mobile platforms, which constitutes a challenge that developers must face when they build applications for different platforms. The model-based artefacts co-evolution is another challenge when metamodel evolves. This paper introduces a model-driven approach for managing the metamodel evolution in the context of cross-platform mobile application development. Firstly, we propose an MDD approach, based on a generic DSL and a set of code generators to generate platform-specific source code. Secondly, the approach provides a graphical framework: (i) to extend the original metamodel through a set of rules, (ii) to define the mapping between the newly added meta-elements and their corresponding in the target platforms and (iii) to automatically update existing code generators. This paper demonstrates the potentials and limits of our approach through a concrete case study.

Keywords: cross-platform mobile development; model-driven development; metamodel evolution; model co-evolution; code generation; domain-specific language.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2022.123463

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 2022 Vol.68 No.2, pp.114 - 131

Received: 13 Jan 2021
Accepted: 24 Apr 2021
Published online: 22 Jun 2022 *

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