ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 /N3976

Transcription

1 ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 Software and Systems Engineering Secretariat: CANADA (SCC) ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 /N Document Type Title Source Explanatory Report for PAS Explanatory Report for PAS (Publicly Available Specification) Submission for Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel, Version 1.0 ISO/IEC OMG Project Status Reference Action ID Distribution Final N3960 FYI or ACT AG No. of Pages 11 Note To be considered at the Berlin Plenary Address reply to: ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 Secretariat École de technologie supérieure Department of Software and IT Engineering 1100 Notre Dame Ouest, Montréal, Québec Canada H3C 1K3 secretariat@jtc1-sc7.org

2 Object Management Group 140 Kendrick Street Building A, Suite 300 Needham, MA USA Telephone: Facsimile: Explanatory Report for PAS (Publicly Available Specification) Submission for Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel, Version 1.0 ISO/IEC OMG Document Number for this report: pas/

3 1. Introduction This Explanatory Report is for the Object Management Group s (OMG s) PAS submissions for the Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel, Version 1.0 specification. This submission is being made in accordance with the criteria in JTC1 N5746, The Transposition of Publicly Available Specifications into International Standards A Management Guide. Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel, Version 1.0 specification is a product of the OMG, a consortium formed in 1989, whose goal is to bring open specifications for modeling and object oriented (OO) distributed processing to the market by adopting specifications submitted by members using an open process Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel (ADM KDM), Version 1.0 Executive Summary Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel (ADM KDM), Version 1.0 is a specification that defines a meta-model for representing information related to existing software assets, their associations and operational environments. ADM KDM provides a common interchange format that allows interoperability between existing software analysis and modernization tools, services, and their respective models. More specifically, ADM KDM provides a common ontology and the corresponding repository model that facilitates the exchange of data currently contained within proprietary tool format that represent existing software assets. The meta-model represents the physical and logical software assets at various levels of abstraction as entities and relations. ADM KDM separates knowledge about existing systems into several orthogonal facets that are well-known in software engineering and are often referred to as Architecture Views. The KDM specification is organized into 4 layers: o KDM Infrastructure Layer o Program Elements Layer o Runtime Resource Layer o Abstractions Layer 2

4 Each layer is further organized into packages. Each package defines a set of meta-model elements whose purpose is to represent a certain independent facet of knowledge related to existing software systems. ADM KDM is the first in the series of specifications related to Software Assurance and Architecture-Driven Modernization activities. ADM KDM facilitates projects that involve existing software systems by insuring interoperability and exchange of data between tools provided by different vendors. One common characteristic of various tools that address Software Assurance and Architecture-Driven Modernization challenge is that they analyze existing software assets (for example, source code modules, database descriptions, build scripts, user interface descriptions, machine code, etc.) to obtain explicit knowledge. Each tool produces a portion of the knowledge about existing software assets. Such tool-specific knowledge may be implicit ("hard-coded" in the tool), restricted to a particular source language and/or particular transformation and/or operational environment. All the above may hinder interoperability between different tools. The meta-model for knowledge discovery provides a common repository model that facilitates the exchange of data contained within individual tool structures that represent existing software assets. The meta-model represents the physical and logical assets at various levels of abstraction. The primary purpose of this meta-model is to provide a common interchange format that will allow interoperability between existing modernization and software assurance tools, services and their respective intermediate representations. ADM KDM is aligned with the following standards: W3C RDF; ISO Language-Independent Datatypes; ISO/IEC 19502:2005 Meta Object Facility (MOF); ISO/IEC 19503:2005 XML Metadata Interchange (XMI); and ISO/IEC DIS Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM). It is also aligned with OMG s Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Rules (SBVR) specification. The ADM KDM specification is available on OMG s document server at For the remainder of this document, Architecture Driven Modernization - Knowledge Discovery Metamodel, Version 1.0 will be abbreviated as ADM KDM Background OMG has been working cooperatively with experts from the JTC1 for a number of years. To facilitate this cooperation, OMG has Category C liaison with a number of JTC1 Subcommittees, including SC 7. For example, this cooperation has resulted in ISO/IEC Rec. X.920 (the ISO Interface Definition Language which is identical to the OMG IDL specification), and ISO/IEC 19501:2005, Information technology - Open Distributed Processing - Unified Modeling Language (UML) Version To further this cooperative relationship and also expedite the transposition of OMG specifications into ISO, OMG applied for and was granted PAS Submitter status in March of This PAS submission of the ADM KDM 1.0 specification provides a common interchange format that allows interoperability between existing software analysis and modernization tools, services, and their respective models, and is a part of the series of PAS submissions which OMG will make in the general area of Software Assurance and Architecture-Driven Modernization. 3

5 1.3. Document Organization The remainder of this Explanatory Report provides the information requested in clauses 7 of JTC1 N5707. In addition, clause 2 of this document provides information on changes to the specification during the transposition process plus a contact for questions that may arise during any stage of the transposition process. 2. Revisions and Questions 2.1 Revisions to the Specification during Transposition Process As ADM KDM 1.0 is a widely implemented specification, OMG wants to avoid technical divergence between the transposed standard and the corresponding OMG specification. Therefore, in accord with JTC1 N5707, 5.2, OMG requests that this document remain technically unchanged throughout the transposition process. Editorial changes to accommodate compatibility with the ISO format are acceptable to OMG. 2.2 Questions During the Voting Period OMG welcomes any questions a National Body may have during the voting period for this PAS submission and will endeavor to reply promptly. Questions should be addressed to: Fred Waskiewicz Object Management Group 140 Kendrick Street Building A, Suite 300 Needham, MA 02494, U.S.A. or by to wask@omg.org 3. Organization (OMG s) Acceptance Criteria As requested in N5707, 5.2.2, the conditions for OMG s recognition as a PAS submitter have not changed. This information is documented in OMG s PAS submitter application, document JTC1 N4801, Application to ISO/IEC JTC1 for Recognition of Object Management Group as a PAS Submitting Organization (a copy is available on the JTC1 web site at This application was approved as documented in JTC1 N5233, Notice of Approval of the Application from the Object Management Group (OMG) for Recognition as a Submitter of Publicly Available Specifications following the response to the ballot comments as contained in JTC1 N5176, OMG's Response to the comments contained in Document JTC 1 N 5061, Summary of Voting on Document JTC 1 N 4801, Application from the Object Management Group (OMG) for Recognition as a Submitter of Publicly Available Specifications (a copy is available on the JTC1 web site at The material in these documents is not duplicated in this clause; however, this clause does address the AFNOR comment on Control and Maintenance of specifications whose resolution was proposed by OMG in N5176 and accepted by ISO. The resolution calls for OMG to address the Control and Maintenance of specifications separately in each 4

6 submission. Clause 3.1 addresses Control and Maintenance for this submission. Clause 3.2 contains pointers to the current versions of OMG s Policies and Procedures (P&P) and OMG s Membership; OMG s membership has grown since the list attached to the original application in JTC1 N4801 and there have been minor updates to the P&P. 3.1 Control and Maintenance of the ADM KDM 1.0 specification OMG, like JTC1, is very concerned that there be no divergence between an OMG specification and a transposed PAS standard. There are essentially two types of maintenance, (a) on-going maintenance (bug fixes and clarifications which correspond to ISO Defect Reports), and (b) major changes (enhancements and extensions which are handled in ISO through Addenda or new standards). The following sub-clauses detail how OMG intends to deal with both types of maintenance for the transposed UML standard On-going Maintenance (Defects) For the transposed ADM KDM 1.0 standard, there will be two sources of on-going maintenance requests, ISO Defect Reports and requests originating from the OMG issue process. Both should be dealt with by a single group with collaborative ISO/OMG membership to ensure there is no divergence between the ISO standard and the OMG specification. As OMG s Policies and Procedures provide for an RTF (Revision Task Force) for every approved OMG specification, OMG proposes that an established RTF for ADM KDM 1.0 be responsible for all on-going maintenance for both the OMG specification and the transposed ADM KDM 1.0 standard. Thus, an existing OMG RTF will be the editing group mentioned in of JTC1 N5707. Participation in this RTF will be open to both OMG members and representatives of the JTC1 SC responsible for the standard in JTC1 for ADM KDM 1.0, this will be SC 7. On approval of the transposed PAS standard, SC 7 ADM KDM 1.0 experts will be invited to join the OMG RTF (this will be in addition to members of SC 7 who may already be on the RTF by virtue of being an OMG member). With regard to reporting on-going maintenance requests, they fall into one of the following: ISO Defects Reports on the transposed standard will be promptly passed from JTC1 SC 7 to the OMG RTF for resolution using the OMG s SC 7 liaison, and defects discovered by OMG members and reported to OMG using the OMG issue process are assigned to the OMG RTF and JTC1 SC 7 will be advised immediately of these defects via a liaison statement to JTC1 SC 7. The RTF will resolve the issue/defect and the results of the RTF s work will be submitted promptly to JTC1 SC 7 in a form which can be used for a Technical Corrigendum for the standard, thus maintaining alignment of the ISO standard and the OMG specification Future Plans (Major Changes Enhancements and Extensions) Enhancements, extensions, and major modifications to OMG specifications are handled procedurally in OMG in much the same way they are in ISO, i.e., new work. OMG uses the RFP process (the same process used to produce the specification in the first place); 5

7 ISO initiates a NWI (for an addendum or new standard). Major modifications to ADM KDM 1.0 will be handled by a new OMG RFP. Input to the RFP can originate from either OMG or SC 7. The existing SC 7 liaison enables ISO to provide input to an OMG RFP to enhance ADM KDM 1.0; this includes drafting of the RFP (before it is issued) and participation in the evaluation of submissions. OMG will use its liaison with SC 7 to inform ISO of any proposed RFP for ADM KDM 1.0. Any new ADM KDM 1.0 specifications will be promptly submitted to JTC1 using the PAS process to progress a new ISO standard. Again, this will maintain alignment of the ISO standard and the OMG specification. 3.2 Current OMG s P&P and Membership Information There have been minor updates to OMG s Policies and Procedures document since the 1997 application in JTC1 N4801 and the OMG Membership has grown. Current versions of both may be found at: a. OMG Policies and Procedures: available on-line at and b. OMG membership information: available on-line at Note: these script driven links will always return the latest version. 4. Document Related Criteria The criteria requested in 7.4 of JTC1 N5707 are addressed in the following sub-clauses. The numbering is identical to that in 7.4 without the leading 7 and the items of information requested are duplicated below with the items of information being requested rendered in italics. 4.1 Quality Within its scope the specification shall completely describe the functionality (in terms of interfaces, protocols, formats, etc.) necessary for an implementation of the PAS. If it is based on a product, it shall include all the functionality necessary to achieve the stated level of compatibility or interoperability in a product independent manner ) Completeness (M): a) How well are all interfaces specified? b) How easily can implementation take place without need of additional descriptions? c) What proof exists for successful implementations (e.g., availability of test results for media standards)? The ADM KDM 1.0 specification is complete within itself. Vendors of successful knowledge discovery software products have provided functional implementations of KDM-compliant metadata import/export capabilities with no 6

8 additional knowledge or descriptions beyond a sufficient (but by no means expert) understanding of the UML, MOF, and XMI upon which ADM KDM 1.0 is based. The ADM KDM 1.0 specification has been successfully used in at least 7 forthcoming commercial realizations to date. For a specific list of implementations, please refer to and to the web sites of software assurance and architecture driven modernization products ) Clarity: a) What means are used to provide definitive descriptions beyond straight text? b) What tables, figures, and reference materials are used to remove ambiguity? c) What contextual material is provided to educate the reader? The ADM KDM 1.0 specification contains detailed, complete UML diagrams for each of its 12 metamodel packages and an appendix with specification of the semantics of the micro KDM elements. In addition, the specification text contains a number of illustrative examples showing how ADM KDM 1.0 can be used to capture the metadata of specific real-world software artifacts. Furthermore, the specification is accompanied by a normative XML file that contains a complete definition of ADM KDM 1.0 in machine-readable format and a set of files that permit viewing of the entire metamodel using Rational Rose (includes complete documentation) ) Testability (M) The extent and use of conformance/interoperability tests or means of implementation verification (e.g., availability of reference material for magnetic media) shall be described, as well as the provisions the specification has for testability. The specification shall have had sufficient review over an extended time period to characterize it as being stable. As primarily an interoperability standard, ADM KDM 1.0 implementations are tested in practice every time an interchange is attempted. The initial recommendation (KDM 1.0) has been available to the OMG community since March 2007, and has been publicly available since January 2008 and has received extensive scrutiny and feedback from an interested community of developers and users. 7

9 4.1.4) Stability (M): a) How long has the specification existed, unchanged, since some form of verification (e.g., prototype testing, paper analysis, full interoperability tests) has been achieved? b) To what extent and for how long have products been implemented using the specification? c) What mechanisms are in place to track versions, fixes, and addendums? The ADM KDM 1.0 specification has been available since March, 2007 and was released in January ADM KDM 1.0 implementations have existed since the initial appearance of the specification and continue to be actively developed today. In accordance with standard OMG procedures, issues raised by the ADM KDM 1.0 user community are collected and logged by OMG and addressed on an as needed basis as determined by OMG procedures ) Availability (M): a) Where is the specification available(e.g., one source, multinational locations, what types of distributors)? b) How long has the specification been available? This specification was formally released by OMG on January c) Has the distribution been widespread or restricted? (describe situation) This, and all OMG specifications, are freely available on the Internet. d) What are the costs associated with specification availability? This, and all OMG specifications, are distributed with no restrictions and at no cost and are available from the OMG web site (there is a nominal charge to cover shipping and handling for paper copies). 4.2 Consensus (M) The accompanying report shall describe the extent of (inter)national consensus that the document has already achieved ) Development Consensus: a) Describe the process by which the specification was developed. b) Describe the process by which the specification was approved. 8

10 c) What "levels" of approval have been obtained? This, and all OMG specifications, are created under the open process set forth in the OMG Policies and Procedures, see reference in 1.4. This specification was approved by OMG members from all major industrialized countries and many developing countries. OMG membership is open to all organizations ) Response to User Requirements: a) How and when were user requirements considered and utilized? b) To what extent have users demonstrated satisfaction? Users are involved in the specification development process throughout except for the portion of the process requiring commercialization in products. User satisfaction is demonstrated by a number of successful installations. For examples of successful installations, see ) Market Acceptance: a) How widespread is the market acceptance today? Anticipated? b) What evidence is there of market acceptance in the literature? As noted above, a number of ADM KDM 1.0 implementations are available and have been since the original version appeared ) Credibility: a) What is the extent and use of conformance tests or means of implementation verification? b) What provisions does the specification have for testability? The detailed semantics specification with its well-formedness rules has been validated by several commercial and non-commercial tool developers. The interchange nature of ADM KDM 1.0 means that its credibility is verified every time an interchange is successfully completed. 4.3 Alignment The specification should be aligned with existing JTC1 standards or ongoing work and thus complement existing standards, architectures and style guides. Any conflicts with existing standards, architectures and style guides should be made clear and justified. 9

11 4.3.1) Relationship to Existing Standards: a) What international standards are closely related to the specification and how? 1. ISO/IEC 19501:2005, Information Technology -- Open Distributed Processing -Unified Modeling Language (UML) Version Meta Object Facility (MOF) Specification v1.3 ISO/IEC 19502:2005 Information technology -- Meta Object Facility (MOF) 3. OMG XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) Specification v1.1 ISO/IEC 19503:2005 Information technology -- XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) 4. OMG ISO/IEC DIS Information technology -- Open distributed processing -- Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) Specification Version 1.1 CWM 5. ISO/IEC 11404: 1996 Information technology Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces Language-independent datatypes 6. W3C Resource Description Framework b) To what international standards is the proposed specification a natural extension? There are none known. c) How is the specification related to emerging and ongoing JTC 1 projects? There are none known ) Adaptability and Migration: a) What adaptations (migrations) of either the specification or international standards would improve the relationship between the specification and international standards? b) How much flexibility do the proponents of the specification have? The specification can be readily adapted to a number of other standards through the use of its specialization (extensibility) mechanisms. c) What are the longer range plans for new/evolving specifications? This work is part of a growing family of open specifications related to Software Assurance and Architecture-Driven Modernization activities, many of which will be submitted to JTC1 using the JTC1 PAS process. 10

12 4.3.3) Substitution and Replacement: a) What needs exist, if any, to replace an existing international standard Rationale? There are none known. b) What is the need and feasibility of using only a portion of the specification as an international standard? N/A. This specification is being submitted in its entirety. c) What portions, if any, of the specification do not belong in an international standard (e.g., too implementation specific)? N/A. This specification is being submitted in its entirety ) Document Format and Style a) What plans, if any, exist to conform to JTC 1 document styles? The accompanying specification has already been transformed from the OMG document style to a style aligned with the ISO/ITU-T collaborative style. OMG will complete alignment, where discrepancies may exist, if required, before final publication as an ISO standard. 11