Model Transformation Design Patterns

This catalogue of MT design patterns is a resource for MT developers, and contains descriptions and application examples of patterns which have been found useful for MT development in a variety of MT languages. It forms a `pattern language' of inter-related patterns which can be used separately or combined.

The catalogue is based on our paper "Model Transformation Design Patterns" in IEEE Transactions in Software Engineering, 2014.

If you would like to submit a new pattern or pattern example to this resource, please contact us: kcl At dcs.kcl.ac.uk.

MT Design Pattern Catalogue

The patterns can be grouped into several categories: Fundamental MT patterns, which are of wide application across many kinds of transformation and MT languages, and are used or specialised in other MT patterns; Modularisation patterns, which concern the structuring and decomposition of transformations; Optimisation patterns, which concern transformation efficiency; Model-to-text patterns, which are specialised patterns for M2T transformations; Expressiveness patterns, which provide techniques to expand MT language capabilities; Architectural patterns, which identify ways to organise systems of transformations; and Bidirectional transformation patterns, which define techniques to implement this category of transformations.

Fundamental MT patterns: Auxiliary Metamodel; Unique Instantiation; Object Indexing
Modularisation patterns: Phased Construction; Structure Preservation; Entity Splitting/Structure Elaboration; Entity Merging/Structure Abstraction; Map Objects Before Links; Parallel Composition/Sequential Composition; Construction and Cleanup; Recursive Descent; Replace Explicit Calls by Implicit Calls; Introduce Rule Inheritance.
Optimisation patterns: Omit Negative Application Conditions; Replace Fixed-point by Bounded Iteration; Decompose Complex Navigations; Restrict Input Ranges; Remove Duplicated Expression Evaluations; Implicit Copy.
Model-to-text patterns: Model Visitor; Text Templates; Replace Abstract by Concrete Syntax.
Expressiveness patterns: Simulate Multiple Matching; Simulate Collection Matching; Simulate Universal Quantification; Simulate Explicit Rule Scheduling.
Architectural patterns: Phased Model Construction; Target Model Splitting; Model Merging; Auxiliary Models; Filter Before Processing.
Bidirectional transformation (bx) patterns: Auxiliary Correspondence Model; Cleanup before Construct; Unique Instantiation; Phased Construction for bx; Entity Merging/Splitting for bx; Map Objects Before Links for bx.

Some of the relationships between these patterns are shown below: