Week 2 of 2010

My enthusiasm still seems to be on holiday at the moment. It better come back soon or I'm going to be pissed! I spent most of this week doing admin stuff and going over last year's progress in detail. I've renamed OOA09 to OOA10. I also moved my whole website onto a new server at www.easily.co.uk to take advantage of a free bandwidth offer. I reinstalled the forum from scratch using the latest version of the software. However, within 5 minutes of installing it I already had several bots trying to register user accounts. I've now disabled user registrations. I would love to get the forum going but anyone who wants to register will now have to email me first.

Below is a summary of last year's progress:

January

• Added Project Matrix support.
• Added Metamodel Population support.

February

• Released Build 013 of OOA Tool.
• Created an OOA model of fUML.
• Published technical note on Attribute Classification.
• Referential and polymorphic attributes now calculated automatically in model populations.
• Abstracted concept of operation and parameter out of OOA of OOA's process model subsystem.
• Adopted Nimbus (from Java SE 6) as default look and feel for OOA Tool.

March

• Added Object Instance Type support.
• Redesigned and reimplemented preferred types.
• Worked on Action Language syntax and semantics.
• Adopted policy of automatic creation of supertypes so that users do not need to relate or unrelate subtype-supertype relationships any more.
• Predefined type visibility within tree browser now depends on whether they are referenced within model.
• Added Event Reference Type support.
• Mathematically dependent referential attributes which link to mathematically dependent relationships added.
• Simplified default value design on attributes and data items.

April

• Major rewrite of attribute's derived fields which are pretty complex.
• Published technical note on Custom and Automatic Key Lettering.
• Added Enumerated Subtype Type and Enumerated State Type support.

May

• Added four new statements to Action Language which aren't defined in OAL: a declare statement, a switch statement, a migrate statement, and a delete event instance statement.
• Published technical note on Synchronous Communications between Domains.
• Published technical note on Asynchronous Communications between Domains.
• Prototyped wormholes and bridge mappings.
• Evolved concept of watchpoint mappings into domain observers.

June

• Published technical note on Semantic Shift.
• Explored use of declare statement in error handling.
• Considered introducing mathematically dependent objects but have held off for now.
• Identified need for operation owner and semantics of operation name ownership.

July

• Added data type unary/binary/dot operators as a new type of operation.
• Renamed Data Dictionary subsystem as Data Type subsystem.
• Identified clear role for process models as means of identifying concurrent data flows which is no longer a responsibility of the Action Language.

August

• Explored partial/complete ordering of objects and identified a potential use for aggregation and composition within Executable UML.
• Added Ordered Identifier support.
• First major refactoring of OOA Tool code - made ModelElement parents static, added deleted status, improved changed status and used Java generics to specific parent type.
• Allow users to control importing of objects and event destinations in various diagrams.

September

• Merged in some Java classes from a previous project: status bar component, console panel component, and improved event logging.
• Second major refactoring of OOA Tool code - added factory reference to all ModelElement classes using Java generics to control typing, and added view factory mechanism.
• Third major refactoring of OOA Tool code - encapsulated all Shlaer-Mellor and Executable UML terminology into OOA Dictionary component, added OOA Dictionary web page generator to that component.

October

• Added version control to OOA Dictionary and can generate OOA Dictionary web page within OOA Tool.
• Old icons recoloured and lots of new icons added.
• Now allow subtype-supertype relationships with only one subtype participant.
• Added automatic backup mechanism for model files.
• Modelled a new File System domain which will be bridged to the OOA of OOA (and implemented in OOA Tool) in the future.
• Added Layer concept to Recursive Design subsystem.
• Final attributes are now tagged with an "(F)" suffix in OIMs.
• Verb phrase concept is split into verb phrase before and verb phrase after to clarify meaning and allow generalization.
• Roles which appear within associated verb phrases are now highlighted on OIMs and class diagrams.
• Added concept of qualified verb phrase providing a more stable identification scheme for relationships compared with relationship IDs.

November

• Resigned Naming domain as Name Management domain, adding a Name Manager external entity to OOA of OOA encapsulating all the various types of name and qualified name used within the OOA of OOA.
• Created a detailed state model for name parsing.
• Added numeric word formatting support to Name Format and decided that numeric ID names within OOA of OOA should be padded by default.
• Developed data type to object bridging ideas from OOA of OOA to Name Management bridge - external types now allow a literal type to defined which allows external types to have default values, and external operators can be defined on external types which may override predefined operators such as equality.

December

• Added support for reference field navigation to OOA Tool GUI which was incorporated into all data type forms.
• Finished all outstanding tasks in the Data Type subsystem.

What it does not include is a working simulator or model compiler. The original goal for 2009 was to get OOA Tool out of BETA which requires working simulation and full translation. What went wrong?

The first thing that went wrong was that I didn't perform enough analysis of the Operation subsystem before I jumped into coding. This is an area that isn't well defined within Shlaer-Mellor or Executable UML, especially with regards to bridging operations. I was also determined to find a role for process models within the framework. The Operation subsystem also interacts with an Action Language subsystem that also isn't well defined with each tool vendor defining their own action language. The result was numerous iterations of ideas and a considerable amount of recoding.

The second thing that went wrong was a number of major refactorings of the OOA Tool code base. These required major effort to complete since the code base is already so large (almost 140K LOC excluding comments). They have improved the code considerably but each major refactoring left me pretty drained. Of course, if I was generating my model element classes from archetype templates and the OOA of OOA then these refactorings would have been much much easier.

The third thing that went wrong was that I made too many changes to the code base making me reluctant to release ongoing builds until a stable build was ready. The OOA Interchange Format and OOA of OOA then got out of step. This turned Build 014 (which has still not been released) into a year long effort rather than a 3 month effort. Not being able to release any stable builds has been a big downer and reduced external interest in the overall project.

So what now? I need to stabilize everything I'm doing. Get Build 014 released. Publish a number of partially complete technical notes that should have been published last year. Make my website notation switchable since I don't like mixing terminology within my web pages and I have no intention of giving up on Shlaer-Mellor notation even though most users are more interested into Executable UML notation. I then need to plan out future builds so that they are more timely. I would still like to get OOA Tool out of BETA this year but I would settle for a working simulator with a version controlled Action Language.

I'll end this week's report with a suggestion that you all have a browse of Kennedy Carter's new redesigned website. Hopefully, they will continue to expand the online content now that it has been refreshed.

Week 1 of 2010

Happy New Year everyone. We have still got plenty of snow here in Colchester which is unusual. I'm also just recovering from a stinky cold which I probably picked up in the Costa coffee shop I like to chill out in. I had hoped to be productive over the Christmas period which so didn't happen. Instead, I've read lots of novels. English TV is always full of repeats and rubbish during Christmas. Although one of my favourite BBC shows Being Human has just started a new series.

I need to get my priorities straight this year and ensure that I deliver working code generation in OOA Tool. My biggest problem will be motivation since I have been working on the project for a full 3 years now by myself. Many features (and technical notes) were left unreleased last year because I failed to finish off the features in a releasable form. This must not continue this year. I have decided to allocate another full year to the project. However, after next year I will probably return to mainstream consulting/development for a break and to shore up my finances. The project will still continue part-time after that. I have no doubts about the overall goals and objectives of the project. However, getting other people to participate in the project has been incredibly difficult. I hope more people will contact me this year with a view to contributing or sharing models etc. Drop me an email if you want to get involved.

Week 51 of 2009

I have spent the last week tidying and fixing various OOA Tool GUI forms. The process that I am following at the moment is that I start by checking model element classes against the OOA Interchange Format DTD. Once I'm happy there, I move on to checking any associated forms against the model element classes (most have at least one GUI form). Since many of the forms perform derived calculations using temporary information from the forms, their logic must match that used in the model elements themselves. It has not always been easy to eliminate duplication here and that has lead to some errors creeping in.

I also got a little sidetracked adding a navigation button mechanism for reference fields to the form editor. As I tidy up each form now, I'm swapping old reference fields to the new ones allowing users to immediately edit/view any associated model elements. This saves a lot of time when navigating a big model. Check out the data type forms to see this in action.

I had hoped to complete and release OOA Tool 1.0 Build 014 before Christmas but that isn't going to happen now. However, I know some people would like to look at some of the features that I have implemented over the last many months, e.g. polymorphic attributes. Thus, I'm going to release an ALPHA version of OOA Tool which should not be used to create models that you want to keep since you may not be able to load the models into the BETA version that will be released in a few weeks. An ALPHA version of OOA Tool can be downloaded from the following link:

2009-12-23_OOATool014_ALPHA (8.30 MB)

Although, the release has been compiled so that it can be run using J2SE 5.0, it should really be run using Java SE 6.0 so that you can see the new Nimbus look and feel in action.

Anyway, it's almost Christmas. Things are slowing down here a lot as usual! We have had lots of snow here in Colchester which is nice. I hope everyone has a good Christmas holiday. Don't forget to start thinking up some New Year resolutions.

Week 50 of 2009

I had planned to publish this weekly report Monday but I thought I would just update a few web pages first. I then thought I would tidy up a few form classes fronting some data type classes before finishing changes to one of those pages. Now here we are and its Wednesday! I miss the discipline of working in a team reporting to someone who is always in a hurry.

Anyway, I have started checking my model classes against Version 0.05 of the OOA Interchange Format DTD and noting differences from the previous version. I've also started updating the change log on the main OOA Interchange Format page. I will also shortly be updating the change log in the OOA Tool Read Me detailing overall differences from the previous build. It's been so long since the last build was released I can't even remember what it looked like! I will continue to update these change logs until the next build is released now.

I spent most of the week in the Data Type subsystem since data types were poorly supported in the last build but are fully supported in the next build. This work is now complete except in relation to data type operators which is really part of the Operation subsystem. The only type of data type that is not supported is Composed Type which is discussed in [xtUML02]. Maybe I will add it in the future if I see a good justification for supporting it.

I also updated my References page to include the new book Model-Driven Development with Executable UML by Dragan Milicev [OOISUML09] which I bought from Amazon. It is a very meaty read (786 pages) and I have only just started to read it. Definitely a job to do while relaxing in a Coffee shop. The book discusses a new executable UML profile which it calls OOIS UML. I have yet to find a single mention of xtUML or xUML which is a bit disappointing. Obviously the author didn't want to be associated with any of this work. Dragan Milicev is based out of Belgrade and English probably isn't his first language. Yet, the text book is written in clear plain English (unlike some foreign text books). The author also presents his arguments in a logical incremental way which I like. Don't be put off by the fact that either the author or the publisher thought that the best way to market the book was to stick a big picture of the author on the book's cover! That might be a good strategy if the author was a nice looking lady since most of it's readers would be male but I'm not sure it was a good idea in this case. Anyway, once I have read more of the book, I will give a more complete review.

Week 49 of 2009

A friend mentioned that I should take a look at SEMAT which is a new initiative to identify and formalize the theory behind and the kernel processes underpinning good software development practice. It's a very new initiative with a long list of supporters already. However, what do they really hope to accomplish?

Looking at the processes involved in software development is not what is lacking at present in my opinion. We really need to establish higher-order work products that are reusable across a wide user base. These higher-order work products need to be independent from but translatable to multiple platforms. This is what Shlaer-Mellor OOA/RD was (and still is via OOA09) and UML/MDA is meant to be achieving. Unfortunately, 99.99% of all developers continue to program applications with standard programming languages and techniques. As long as developers continue to mix implementation concerns into application concerns, broad reuse will continue to be a dream. An executable model capturing application concerns separately from implementation concerns is the only viable way to move the software industry forward. Who do we want to be doing implementation programming in 50 years? Us? No. Machines should be implementing solutions to our problems. We should be implementing those machines and innovating sophisticated service domains. We should be moving to a world of software factories and engineering laboratories not maintaining software sweatshops.

The articles on the SEMAT website talk about fashion and politics with regard to current software development practice. This will always be the case when you involve lots of people in any activity. I don't think there is much we can do about that. However, the basic premise behind SEMAT which is that a theory and set of kernel processes will make all the difference is wholly wrong in my opinion. I'm not against process initiatives such as the CMM (I haven't really looked at the current incarnation) which can be used to improve software quality within organizations. However, this doesn't move us away from software sweatshops it only ensures product quality and that everyone is sweating at an optimal level!

I won't be adding my support to SEMAT and I don't recommend that anyone else add their support to this mostly pointless initiative especially if you are already contributing to code generation activities elsewhere.

Rant over. I don't have much progress to report this week since I have been bogged down finished off stuff and fixing several bugs. However, I still expect to release Build 014 of OOA Tool before Christmas.

Week 48 of 2009

My Internet is back! Life is just not the same without an Internet connection anymore. My girlfriend has been pigging out at the local McDonald's which is the nearest wifi point to our house so that she can run her web business. It brings to mind the Over-Logging episode of South Park where the Internet goes down. I like Virgin as a provider in general but their phone support is unbelievably bad. Even worst than BT's phone support! I only got thru to report a fault by ringing their 'I want to leave' phone number.

Anyway, the last week has not been one of my most productive. I've gotten myself bogged down with Name Management integration changes. I've also found and fixed a few bugs. I like the improvements but what the hell was I thinking when I decided to upgrade Naming to Name Management? I should be focusing on getting Build 014 out. I'm not going to spend anymore time on this report since I'm sure you would all like to see more progress and less chatter!

Week 47 of 2009

I'm a day late this week since I sneaked out at lunch to see New Moon at the local cinema. I've already mentioned in the past that I am a vampire literature fan and I have read all the Twilight books. Yes, I'm a 40 year old bloke but I'm also a romantic at heart especially when vampires and werewolves are involved! Anyway, I thought it was pretty good with some realistic special effects even though it was made on a modest budget compared to 2012 which I watched last week. It was also pretty good but If I had to choose then it would loose!

Back to work related topics. I still haven't finished Naming which I have now renamed as Name Management. This fits better especially since I called the external entity in the OOA of OOA domain Name Manager. I spent considerable time implementing a state model with Action Language code for Name which parses original text into words. The algorithm is mirrored in my Java implementation. I've included below the state transition diagram (for Shlaer-Mellor users):

and the equivalent statechart diagram (for Executable UML users):

You will have to click on the images and zoom to see the details. However, it is worth discussing some Action Language coding points raised. The Start Parsing creation state doesn't strictly have to return name at the end to perform the creation but since I want to be able to animate state transition diagrams, It would be nice to know which active object is being followed. It also allows current_state to be set if necessary, i.e. I didn't need to assign it a value in the create object instance statement. You will also notice that I don't use event data item qualifiers in generate statements when the expression used is a simple data item with the same name. This saves a lot of redundancy. In the Parsing Complete final state I have commented out the unrelate statement since it is redundant in OOA09. I always automatically delete any relationship instances involving an object instance before removing an object instance since the programmer can't be relied upon to get this right. It is just too easy to forget. Finally, I would be interested to know if anyone has a solution for determining how we can skip trailing digits before we have reached Parsing Complete. The above algorithm has to go back and remove trailing numeric words if necessary.

The final topic this week is external types which are new in OOA09. I have been testing how useful they are and whether the current definition is sufficient with the work on Name Management that I have been doing. I realized that there are a couple of major deficiencies. First, how do I specific external literal values, e.g. how do I define Role and Phrase literal values in the OOA of OOA domain which are important in the model? Second, how do I test the OOA of OOA domain without a Name Management domain? Do I have to have all domains in place before I can perform simulations? To fix both problems I now optionally associate a literal type (a population independent type) with external types. I have also subtyped external value into Simple External Value and External Value Literal. External value literals have an optional actual value which is determined via a semantic shift mapping if defined. External types can now have a default value if they have a literal type. Furthermore, if the external type has no semantic shift mapping to another domain then the literal type will be used instead when simulating the domain. To help facilitate this, the literal type should implement the same operators as the external type. However, the literal type operators need only provide the minimum implementation necessary for simulation.

I also made a decision as to whether external types can be mapped to different actual types within a project. I decided that this would be a bad idea and so I will require all external types to resolve to at most one actual non-external type. It will still be possible to map an external type in one domain to another external type in another domain. However, all external types must eventually resolve to the same actual type. I had originally included some concept of generic type into external type but I can't see how it all fits together. I may in future add a separate generic type concept but I can't see a need for it at present. External types on the other hand are starting to play a much more significant role since they now facilitate a clean bridge mechanism.

With the improvements that I have made to external types, I am looking forward to creating an Arithmetic Calculator service domain in the future which would support arithmetic operators across a range of limited and unlimited number types. Arithmetic algorithms is one of my hobbies but I must resist since I am already massively behind with my work schedule.