Modeling and Executing Software Architecture Using SysADL

Software architecture has become an important discipline, playing a key role in the specification of software-intensive systems. It is now included in regular computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels. However, most modeling languages lack explicit support for executing an architecture description. In this tutorial, we introduce the SysADL language and the SysADL Studio tool providing both theoretical concepts and practical examples in a systematic approach to architectural design. SysADL is a specialization of the OMG SysML standard to software architecture description, and it brings together the expressive power of software architecture main concepts following the ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 with a standard language used by the industry. This tutorial presents how a SysML-based ADL supports architectural modeling and execution through the three above-mentioned viewpoints. We use SysADL Studio (available at https://sysadl.imd.ufrn.br/) to illustrate the concepts and to allow attendees to gain practical experience in modeling and executing architectures. Thus, in this tutorial, the audience will learn: (i) the concepts that provide the foundation for software architectural specification and execution using SysADL; (ii) how to design a complete software architecture using SysADL Studio and a step-to-step running example. This tutorial targets software professionals and students and it is also supported by a book and accompanying tool.