M. Wimmer, A. Kusel, J. Schönböck, G. Kappel, W. Retschitzegger, W. Schwinger: Reviving QVT Relations: Model-Based Debugging Using Colored Petri Nets, 12th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MoDELS'09), Denver, USA; 04.10.2009 - 09.10.2009; in Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MoDELS'09), Springer, LNCS 5795, 2009 ISBN: 978-3-642-04424-3; S. 727 - 732. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-04425-0_59
The standardized QVT Relations language, one cornerstone of Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), has not yet gained widespread use in practice, not least due to missing tool support in general and inadequate debugging support in particular. Transformation engines interpreting QVT Relations operate on a low level of abstraction, hide the operational semantics of a transformation and scatter metamodels, models, QVT code, and traces across different artifacts. We propose a model-based debugger representing QVT Relations on bases of TROPIC, a model transformation framework which utilizes a variant of Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) providing an explicit runtime model and a homogenous view on all artifacts of a transformation.