Formalizing execution semantics of UML profiles with fUML models

Abstract : UML Profiles are not only sets of annotations. They have semantics. Executing a model on which a profile is applied requires semantics of this latter to be considered. The issue is that in practice semantics of profiles are mainly specified in prose. In this form it cannot be processed by tools enabling model execution. Although latest developments advocate for a standard way to formalize semantics of profiles, no such approach could be found in the literature. This paper addresses this issue with a systematic approach based on fUML to formalize the execution semantics of UML profiles. This approach is validated by formalizing the execution semantics of a subset of the MARTE profile. The proposal is compatible with any tool implementing UML and clearly identifies the mapping between stereotypes and semantic definitions.