The Object Constraint Language - Getting Your Models Ready for MDA

The release of Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0 places renewed emphasis on the Object Constraint Language (OCL). Within UML, OCL is the standard for specifying expressions that add vital information to object-oriented models and other object-modeling artifacts. Model Driven Architecture (MDA) relies on OCL to add the level of programming detail necessary to enable platform-specific models (PSM) to communicate with platform-independent models (PIM). This book is a practical, accessible guide to OCL for software architects, designers, and developers. Much care has been taken during the redesign of OCL to ensure that the syntax remains readable and writable by the average software modeler. The Object Constraint Language, Second Edition, utilizes a case study to show how to exercise these compact but powerful expressions for maximum effect. This newly updated edition • Explains why OCL is critical to MDA-and why UML alone is sot enough • Introduces an SQL-like syntax to OCL • Defines the new language constructs of OCL 2.0 • Demonstrates how OCL can be incorporated into code • Shares tips and tricks for applying OCL to real-world modeling challenges-showing which can be solved with UML and which require OCL. Using a combination of UML and OCL allows developers to realize the effective, consistent, and coherent models that are critical to working with MDA. The authors' pragmatic approach and illustrative use of examples will help application developers come quickly up to speed with this important object-modeling method-and will serve as a ready reference thereafter.