Towards a New Repository for Feature Model Exchange

Abstract

Feature models are one of the most important contributions to the field of software product lines, feature oriented software development or variability intensive systems. Since their invention in 1990, many feature model dialects appeared from less formal to more formal, from visual to textual, integrated in tool chains or just as a support for a concrete research contribution. Ten year ago, S.P.L.O.T. a feature model online tool was presented. One of its most used features has been the ability to centralise a feature model repository with its own feature model dialect. As a result of MODEVAR, we hope to have a new simple textual feature model language that can be shared by the community. Having a new repository for that language can help to share knowledge. In this paper we present some ideas about the characteristics that the future feature model repository should have in the future. The idea is to discuss those characteristics with the community.