Model Transformations for Hypertext modeling on Web Information Systems Paloma Cáceres, Valeria de Castro, Juan M. Vara, Esperanza Marcos Rey Juan Carlos University {paloma.caceres, valeria.decastro, juanmanuel.vara, esperanza.marcos}@urjc.es ABSTRACT In response to the lack of suitable methods to build the navigation model of Web Information Systems (WIS), we presented in past works HM 3 , the Hypertext Modeling Method of MIDAS, a methodological framework for the agile development of WIS. We proposed a method to obtain the navigation model of a WIS, starting from the conceptual data model and the user requirements, collected in the use case model. In this work, continuing with the MDA approach for WIS development that we are following with HM 3 , we define the model to model transformations needed at the PIM level to get the hypertext model from the behavioral and content models. Firstly we specify the transformation rules with natural language to later map them to graph transformation rules. Keywords Model Transformation, Hypertext/Hypermedia, User Issues, Modeling Methodologies. 1. INTRODUCTION Despite the differences found between the traditional methodologies for Web Information Systems development, all they follow a similar approach to obtain the navigational model: they start from the conceptual model [8] [9]. In previous works and in response to certain lacks suffered by this structural approach, we proposed to address the problem of the systematic construction of the navigation model from a user services oriented perspective [4] [7]. That is, we mainly take into account the services required by the user, what we call conceptual user services. This way, we proposed the Hypertext Modeling Method of MIDAS (HM 3 ): a method to obtain the navigation model starting from the user services model, a use case model in which we identify conceptual user services as stereotyped use cases. In HM 3 we also take into account the conceptual data model, but just in a second step, to complete the information collected in the output model. The proposed method includes the process, the models and the mappings between them. As the mentioned previous works show, the mappings between the models play a very important role, given that the method is based on a continuous development process in which, according to the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) principles [10], the models act as the prime actors. Each step of this process consists basically in the generation of an output model starting from one or more input models on which the mapping rules are applied. In the remaining steps of the process, this output model acts as one of the input models. In this work, we complete the definition of HM 3 by specifying a graph transformation approach to effectively realize the mappings defined in HM 3 . The term “Graph Transformation” is used to refer to a special kind of rule-based transformations that are typically represented diagrammatically [20]. So, given that we define the HM 3 mapping rules in a rule-based manner, it seems properly to use a graph transformation approach to later formalize them. HM 3 is part of MIDAS, a model driven methodology for agile development of WIS. MIDAS proposes to model the WIS according to three basic aspects: hypertext, content and behavior. This work focuses on the MIDAS method to model the hypertext aspect whose final output is the navigation model, obtained by means of the model to model transformations at PIM level presented in this work. 2. THE FRAMEWORK AND THE PROCESS In this section we summarize the main characteristics of the MDA framework at which this work is located and the modeling process that is completed with the model to model transformations specified in this work. 2.1 MIDAS Framework MIDAS is a methodological framework for agile development of WIS, which proposes a Model Driven Architecture [5] based on the MDA proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG) [10]. MIDAS proposes to model the WIS according to two orthogonal dimensions (see Figure 1). BEHAVI OR HI PERTEXT CONTENT PI M PSM Conceptual Data Model User Services Model Extended Navigation Model Extended Use Cases Model Extended Slice Model < < mappings PIM-PSM> > < < mappings PIM - PIM> > < < mappings PSM - PSM> > Service Model WSDL Model Service Composition Model BPEL4WS Model OR Model XML Schema Model Xlink Model Business Model Domain Model CI M Figure 1. Model Driven Architecture of MIDAS. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. SAC’06, April, 23-27, 2006, Dijon, France. Copyright 2006 ACM 1-59593-108-2/06/0004…$5.00. 1232