MDA Distilled: Principles of Model-Driven Architecture

Translating Models

Executable UML defines groupings of data and behavior (“classes”), the behavior over time of instances (“state charts”), and precise computational behavior (“actions”). The reason for the quotation marks is that Executable UML does not prescribe implementation. Rather, a “class” in Executable UML represents a conceptual grouping of data and behavior that may be implemented as a class, or it may be implemented as, say, a C struct and a set of associated functions or as a VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) entity. (VHSIC stands for Very High Speed Integrated Circuits.) In other words, a “class” doesn't have to be implemented as a class. Consequently, Executable UML is a software-platform-independent language that can ...