Compatibility Evaluation of Components Specified in UML

Abstract

When developing component-based software, the compatibility analysis is a necessary step to ensure the interoperability of the connected components. It allows early identification of problems caused by incompatible components. This paper presents the automated process of structural and behavioral compatibility analysis deployed in the SEA environment. From the specification of component-based software, made entirely with UML diagrams, tools are triggered to automatically perform the compatibility analysis. The structural analysis considers component, deployment and class diagrams. The behavioral analysis also treats the state machine diagram, which is transparently converted to a Petri net, that is, the user only handles UML diagrams. Behavioral problems are identified by interpreting Petri net properties for the context of components.