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Towards Model-Based Optimisation: Using Domain Knowledge Explicitly

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Software Technologies: Applications and Foundations (STAF 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 9946))

Abstract

Search-based software engineering (SBSE) treats software-design problems as search and optimisation problems addressing them by applying automated search and optimisation algorithms. A key concern is the adequate capture and representation of the structure of design problems. Model-driven engineering (MDE) has a strong focus on domain-specific languages (DSLs) which are defined through meta-models, capturing the structure and constraints of a particular domain. There is, thus, a clear argument for combining both techniques to obtain the best of both worlds. Some authors have proposed a number of approaches in recent years, but these have mainly focused on the optimisation of transformations or on the identification of good generic encodings of models for search. In this paper, we first provide a structured overview of the current state of the art before identifying limitations of the key proposals (transformation optimisation and generic genetic encodings of models). We then present a first prototype for running search algorithms directly on models themselves (rather than a separate representation) and derive key research challenges for this approach to model optimisation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some other approaches exist, but they have only been defined for a specific problem. Here, we focus on approaches that aim to be generic.

  2. 2.

    In earlier work, Horvath et al. [14] introduce the idea of search over models, but without support for optimisation.

  3. 3.

    We leave out the recurring Zoo object for simplicity.

  4. 4.

    See https://github.com/mde-optimiser/mde_optimiser.

  5. 5.

    See http://moeaframework.org/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics, King’s College London, London, UK

    Steffen Zschaler

  2. Departamento de Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain

    Lawrence Mandow

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  1. Steffen Zschaler
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Correspondence to Steffen Zschaler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita di Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Paolo Milazzo

  2. Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary

    Dániel Varró

  3. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Manuel Wimmer

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Zschaler, S., Mandow, L. (2016). Towards Model-Based Optimisation: Using Domain Knowledge Explicitly. In: Milazzo, P., Varró, D., Wimmer, M. (eds) Software Technologies: Applications and Foundations. STAF 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9946. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50230-4_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50230-4_24

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