Modeling Hypergeneric Relationships between Types in XML

Overview & Synopsis

The definition of hypergenericity given by P. Desfray is the following: "hypergenericity is a mechanism whereby a model is automatically transformed by applying external rules''. In a previous paper we try to introduce hypergenericity in the notions of types or in the notions of links between types in order to propose a framework for the definition of languages which may be different according to well-chosen sets of parameters. The goals look like those of meta-programmed systems but they are not. With our approach we cannot do everything (only the behaviors of links and types may change) but this is done in a very guided and safe way: in the OFL model, each concept is parametrized with a set of parameters and a set of actions and controls whose execution is driven by the value of those parameters. There is no meta-programming task but there are choices of parameter values. Of course, the drawback of such an approach is that if the set of parameters is not sufficient or is too specialized, the facilities provided by such a language or a model customization are useless, but they have been designed in OFL in order to avoid it.