1. Interaction Flow Modeling Language
First Submission
Marco Brambilla
OMG Technical Meeting, ADTF, Jacksonville, September 12, 2012

2. Agenda
Recap
Submission status
Proof of concepts
Metamodel
Concrete notation
2

3. Objectives of IFML
The front-end of applications
Expressing
Content of interfaces
User events and interaction
Binding to business logic
3

4. IFML Submitters
Submitters
WebRatio
Soluta.net
Fujitsu
Model Driven Solutions
Thales (France)
Softeam (France)
Document numbers
OMG Document Number: ad/2012-09-02
IFML Metamodel XMI, ad/2012-08-07
IFML UML Profile XMI, ad/2012-08-08
IFML Diagram Interchange XMI, ad/2012-08-11
4

5. Coverage of requirements
All mandatory requirements
All optional requirements:
• Modularization
• Input validation
Missing discussions:
• Mapping to PSM
• Examples on integrated usage with UML
5

6. Mandatory requirements
A MOF-compliant metamodel which describes the user interaction within front-
end interfaces, their constituents, and their connections with back-end business
components, data storage and Web Services.
• DONE (refinements ongoing)
An intuitive concrete syntax for the interaction flow notation.
• DONE (graphical)
• (textual not covered)
A UML Profile consistent to the metamodel.
• DONE
A complete mapping between the UML Profile and the metamodel.
• DONE
An interchange format between tools using XMI.
• DONE
6

7. Mandatory application requirements
Multiple views for the same application
Support for mobile and multi-device applications
view components: the visualization and input of data, and the production of
events.
view components shall be independent of
• the concrete widgets at PS level
• the presentation aspects
interaction flow, initiated by the user or by external events, in terms of:
1. a source component;
2. possibly, a reference to an action flow model specifying the actions triggered by the event; 3) one
or more target view modules and components that are presented as the result of the interaction.
Extensibility for components
User context: the user status in the current instant of the interaction (position,
history, machine, platform,…)
7

8. Changes with respect to previous vers.
New document structure
MOF Metamodel
Manual documentation of high-level view of the metamodel
Automatic generation of detailed metamodel documentation
Example of IFML on Gmail completed
XMI for DD, Metamodel, and Profile completed and cleaned up
8

9. Proof of concepts
Consolidated evaluation of WebML
WebRatio toolsuite
10 years of experience
Will be updated to the new IFML
notation
Implementation of new, open-source
IFML modeling tool
Eclipse based
EMF / GMF
Integration with UML / fUML / Alf
9

10. Proof of concepts
10

11. The metamodel – 1: Core - Content
11

12. The metamodel – 2 – IFML Model
12

13. The metamodel – 3 – View Elements
13

14. The metamodel – 4 – Interaction Flow
14

15. Concrete notation - DD
15

16. IFML concrete syntax by example
SelectedArtist  AnArtist
16

17. IFML concrete syntax by example
17

18. IFML concrete syntax by example
18

19. IFML concrete syntax – extensions 1
19

20. IFML concrete syntax – extensions 2
20

21. References
IFML wiki
• http://www.omgwiki.org/IFML/
IFML status and agenda
• http://www.omg.org/techprocess/meetings/schedule/IFML.html
Agenda
• Revised Submission Deadline: February 18, 2013
21

22. Thanks
Contact:
marco.brambilla@webratio.com