Realizing architecture frameworks through megamodelling techniques

Most practising software architects operate within an architecture framework which is a coordinated set of viewpoints, models and notations prescribed for them. Whereas architecture frameworks are defined to varying degrees of rigour and offer varying levels of tool support, they tend to be closed: constituent elements are defined in different non-standard ways, they are not re-usable, and the creation of other frameworks requires a complete rework. With the aim to manage this issue, this paper presents MEGAF, an infrastructure for realizing architecture frameworks, which can be used to create architecture descriptions. It builds upon the conceptual foundations of ISO/IEC 42010 for architecture description. MEGAF is realized through megamodeling techniques and is implemented via Eclipse plugins.