Multidirectional Transformations and Synchronisations (Dagstuhl Seminar 18491)

Abstract

Bidirectional transformations (bx) are a mechanism for maintaining the
consistency of two (or more) related sources of information, such as models in
model-driven development, database schemas, or programs. Bx technologies have
been developed for practical engineering purposes in many diverse fields.
Different disciplines such as programming languages, graph transformations,
software engineering, and databases have contributed to the concepts and
theory of bx.

However, so far, most efforts have been focused on the case where exactly two
information sources must be kept consistent; the case of more than two has
usually been considered as an afterthought. In many practical scenarios, it is
essential to work with more than two information sources, but the community
has hardly started to identify and address the research challenges that this
brings.

Driven by the practical needs and usage scenarios from industry, this Dagstuhl
Seminar aimed to identify the challenges, issues and open research
problems for multidirectional model transformations and synchronisations and
sketch a road map for developing relevant concepts, theories and tools.

The report contains an executive summary of the seminar, reports from its
working groups, as well as descriptions of industrial and academic case
studies that motivated the discussions.