The architecture of a UML virtual machine
Current software development tools let developers model a software system and generate program code from the models to run the system. However, generating code and installing a non-trivial system induces a time delay between changing the model and executing it that makes rapid model prototyping awkward if not impossible. This paper presents the architecture of a virtual machine for UML that interprets UML models without any intermediate code-generation step. The paper shows how to embed UML in a metalevel architecture so that a key property of model-based systems, the causal connection between models and model instances, is guaranteed. With this architecture, changes to a model have immediate effects on its execution, providing users with rapid feedback about the model's structure and behavior. This approach supports model innovation better than today's codegeneration approaches.
uml virtual machines causal connection metamodeling