Model design using hierarchical Web-based libraries

Design tools can be profitably associated with libraries of reusable modeling components that will make the description and also the validation of the models much easier. Furthermore, current and future applications will be increasingly based on three fundamental technologies: object orientation, client/server and Internet. We propose in this article an object-oriented architecture for the definition of Web-based hierarchical model libraries. The originality of our approach lies in the facts that it is based on: (i) a notion of genericity of use, (ii) notions like inheritance and abstraction links between the stored models, and (iii) Web-based library storage and consulting procedures.