Extracting platform independent models from composite applications

• US 8,495,559 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2008
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Akkiraju, Rama Kalyani T., Mitra, Tilak, Thulasiram, Usha
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wang, Ben C
• Application Number:
  US12/206,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20100064275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,778 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven

Abstract

A system and method for extracting a platform independent model (PIM) from the existing implementation artifacts of a composite application via an intermediary platform specific model (PSM) using model-driven transformations. Meta-models for the PSM and PIM are prepared and mapping rules are specified therebetween. The mapping rules can be created manually or derived automatically via ontology mapping techniques. Once specified, model driven transformations that codify the mapping rules generate the PIM which may include the structural, behavioral and user experience models of the composite application. To enhance the reusability of the extracted PIM, a business level service model along with a service dependency model is generated rather than IT level classes. These higher levels of abstraction enable the models to be linked with business objectives, which is important for companies to understand and maintain their service portfolios.

Claims

1. A method executed by a central processing unit (CPU) for extracting a platform independent model (PIM) from a composite application, the method comprising:

identifying existing implementation artifacts of the composite application, wherein the implementation artifacts comprise platform specific legacy code and artifacts;

transforming the identified implementation artifacts for generating a platform specific model (PSM), wherein generating a PSM includes one or more transformations between the implementation artifacts and one or more meta-models of the PSM; and

transforming the PSM for generating a PIM, wherein generating a PIM includes one or more transformations between the one or more meta-models of the PSM and one or more meta-models of the PIM;

wherein one or more transformations between elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM include one or more mappings that define rules for mapping between the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the implementation artifacts further comprise code, data base schema, user experience modules, and/or workflow engines.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the existing implementation artifacts are wrapped as one or more of the services along with associated metadata to thereby facilitate reuse of the at least a portion of the existing implementation artifacts.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the services have formal linkages with business objectives thereby providing traceability between derived services and business objectives served by the services.

5. The method of claims 1, wherein the generated PIM includes a service model, service dependency model, structural model, behavioral model, and/or a user experience model of the composite application.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each service in the service model exposes its interface signature, message exchanges and any associated metadata.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein when at least one or more meta-models of an existing platform are unknown, further comprising deriving a meta-model of the existing platform either manually or automatically or using exemplar analysis techniques.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the PIM is created in one of a plurality of formal modeling languages of a group that comprises the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the Resource Description Framework (RDF), or the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the elements of the meta-models include service elements from the group that comprises service operations, service messages, service interfaces, business objects and data structures.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the elements of the meta-models include user experience elements from the group that comprises screens, input forms, text fields, tables, graphs, tabbed views, service actions, non-service actions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the mappings between the PIM and the PSM are created manually.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the mappings between the PIM and the PSM are derived via ontology mapping techniques.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated PSM is rationalized and filtered to extract certain elements of the generated PSM that have value to the generated PIM.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising extracting service models from the generated PSM.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising applying a litmus test to the extracted service models to categorize services within the service models as process services, information services, security services or infrastructure services.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a dependency between various functional modules is derived from the implementation artifacts and is captured as service dependencies and behavioral model in the PSM which is then further transformed into the PIM.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a dependency between the various functional modules is derived manually, automatically or semi-automatically using call-graph hierarchy generation techniques.

18. A system having a processor for extracting a platform independent model (PIM) from a composite application, comprising:

a computing network including a processing device in communication with one or more computer memory storage devices;

a module that identifies existing implementation artifacts of the composite application, wherein the implementation artifacts comprise platform specific legacy code and artifacts;

a module that transforms the identified implementation artifacts for generating a platform specific model (PSM), wherein generating a PSM includes one or more transformations between the implementation artifacts and one or more meta-models of the PSM; and

a module that transforms the PSM into a PIM, wherein the PIM includes one or more transformations between the one or more meta-models of the PSM and one or more meta-models of the PIM;

wherein one or more transformations between elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM include one or more mappings that define rules for mapping between the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a module that rationalizes and filters certain extracted elements of the PSM that have value to the PIM.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising a module that applies a litmus test to service models extracted from the PSM to categorize services within the service models as process services, information services, security services or infrastructure services.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising a call-graph hierarchy generation module that derives a dependency between various functional modules either manually, automatically or semi-automatically using call-graph hierarchy generation techniques.

22. The system of claim 18, further comprising a module that includes existing implementation artifacts of the composite application.

23. The system of claim 18, further comprising a module that derives a meta-model of the existing platform either manually or automatically or using exemplar analysis techniques when at least one or more meta-models of an existing platform are unknown.

24. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program code for extracting a platform independent model (PIM) from a composite application; and

instructions for causing a computer to implement a method, the method further including;

identifying existing implementation artifacts of the composite application, wherein the implementation artifacts comprise platform specific legacy code and artifacts;

transforming the identified implementation artifacts for generating a platform specific model (PSM), wherein generating a PSM includes one or more transformations between the implementation artifacts and one or more meta-models of the PSM; and

transforming the PSM for generating a PIM, wherein generating a PIM includes one or more transformations between the one or more meta-models of the PSM and one or more meta-models of the PIM;

wherein one or more transformations between elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM include one or more mappings that define rules for mapping between the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PSM and the elements of the one or more meta-models of the PIM.