[Uml-devel] Q: UML spec to C++?

[Andrew Sutton]

On Tuesday 29 October 2002 10:27 am, Jonathan Riddell wrote:
> > Is the file given at the following URL a formal description of the whole
> > UML thing?
> >
> > http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ad/01-02-15.xml
> >
> > If yes does anyone know of an available XMI/XML parser tool which
> > generates code from this (in C++) which could be the base for an internal
> > umbrello data model?
>
> There's XMI and there's XMI.  XMI is a meta language for object stuff
> (using the meta language for markup stuff, XML).  This XMI file described
> a UML specification but it doesn't describe any actual UML information.
>
> It would take quite a specialist programme to convert that into classes
> that could be used as an internal model.

raw XMI doesn't really have any information in it. the guts of what xmi is 
used for is really defined by the MOF which defines a very small type of UML 
that can be used for creating metamodels. it also defines the Model namespace 
for XMI. by implementing the MOF and some codegen features, we should be able 
to auto-generate a stub implementation of all the UML elements. actually, we 
could use this MOF implementation as a bootstrap to build a "real" MOF 
implementation.

*eventually*, i'd like to see this happen. it would be nice if umbrello 
supported two "New" options. think: "New Model" and "New Metamodel" where the 
former would use UML elements and the latter, MOF elements. loading a file 
should import all the namespace implementations described by XMI.metamodel 
and any extensions (i think).

> Guess we should check for  the metamodel
> <XMI.metamodel xmi.name='Model' xmi.version='1.3'/>
> It should give a friendly error if the xmi.name isn't UML.

probably a good start for right now since umbrello doesn't support MOF :) 
although, technically, it would be the same if you tried to load something 
the UML xmi file.