UVL: Feature modelling with the Universal Variability Language

IF 3.7 2区计算机科学 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Journal of Systems and Software Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI:10.1016/j.jss.2024.112326

David Benavides , Chico Sundermann , Kevin Feichtinger , José A. Galindo , Rick Rabiser , Thomas Thüm

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Feature modelling is a cornerstone of software product line engineering, providing a means to represent software variability through features and their relationships. Since its inception in 1990, feature modelling has evolved through various extensions, and after three decades of development, there is a growing consensus on the need for a standardised feature modelling language. Despite multiple endeavours to standardise variability modelling and the creation of various textual languages, researchers and practitioners continue to use their own approaches, impeding effective model sharing. In 2018, a collaborative initiative was launched by a group of researchers to develop a novel textual language for representing feature models. This paper introduces the outcome of this effort: the Universal Variability Language (UVL), which is designed to be human-readable and serves as a pivot language for diverse software engineering tools. The development of UVL drew upon community feedback and leveraged established literature in the field of variability modelling. The language is structured into three levels – Boolean, Arithmetic, and Type – and allows for language extensions to introduce additional constructs enhancing its expressiveness. UVL is integrated into various existing software tools, such as FeatureIDE and flamapy, and is maintained by a consortium of institutions. All tools that support the language are released in an open-source format, complemented by dedicated parser implementations for Python and Java. Beyond academia, UVL has found adoption within a range of institutions and companies. It is envisaged that UVL will become the language of choice in the future for a multitude of purposes, including knowledge sharing, educational instruction, and tool integration and interoperability. We envision UVL as a pivotal solution, addressing the limitations of prior attempts and fostering collaboration and innovation in the domain of software product line engineering.

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UVL：使用通用可变性语言进行特征建模

特征建模是软件产品生产线工程的基石，它提供了一种通过特征及其关系来表示软件可变性的方法。自 1990 年诞生以来，特征建模通过各种扩展不断发展，经过三十年的发展，人们越来越一致地认为需要一种标准化的特征建模语言。尽管在标准化可变性建模和创建各种文本语言方面做出了多种努力，但研究人员和从业人员仍在使用各自的方法，阻碍了模型的有效共享。2018 年，一群研究人员发起了一项合作倡议，旨在开发一种用于表示特征模型的新型文本语言。本文介绍了这一努力的成果：通用可变性语言（UVL），该语言设计为人类可读，可作为各种软件工程工具的枢纽语言。UVL 的开发借鉴了社区的反馈意见，并利用了可变性建模领域的既有文献。该语言分为三个层次--布尔、算术和类型，并允许语言扩展，以引入更多的结构来增强其表达能力。UVL 已集成到 FeatureIDE 和 flamapy 等多种现有软件工具中，并由一个机构联盟负责维护。所有支持该语言的工具都以开源格式发布，并辅以 Python 和 Java 专用解析器实现。除学术界外，UVL 还被许多机构和公司所采用。据设想，未来 UVL 将成为多种用途的首选语言，包括知识共享、教育教学、工具集成和互操作性。我们设想 UVL 将成为一个关键的解决方案，解决以往尝试的局限性，促进软件产品生产线工程领域的合作与创新。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Systems and Software 工程技术-计算机：理论方法

CiteScore

8.60

自引率

5.70%

发文量

193

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Systems and Software publishes papers covering all aspects of software engineering and related hardware-software-systems issues. All articles should include a validation of the idea presented, e.g. through case studies, experiments, or systematic comparisons with other approaches already in practice. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: •Methods and tools for, and empirical studies on, software requirements, design, architecture, verification and validation, maintenance and evolution •Agile, model-driven, service-oriented, open source and global software development •Approaches for mobile, multiprocessing, real-time, distributed, cloud-based, dependable and virtualized systems •Human factors and management concerns of software development •Data management and big data issues of software systems •Metrics and evaluation, data mining of software development resources •Business and economic aspects of software development processes The journal welcomes state-of-the-art surveys and reports of practical experience for all of these topics.