Integrating legacy systems with MDE

Integrating several legacy software systems together is commonly performed with multiple applications of the Adapter Design Pattern in OO languages such as Java. The integration is based on specifying bi-directional translations between pairs of APIs from different systems. Yet, manual development of wrappers to implement these translations is tedious, expensive and error-prone. In this paper, we explore how models, aspects and generative techniques can be used in conjunction to alleviate the implementation of multiple wrappers. Briefly the steps are, (1) the automatic reverse engineering of relevant concepts in APIs to high-level models; (2) the manual definition of mapping relationships between concepts in different models of APIs using an ad-hoc DSL; (3) the automatic generation of wrappers from these mapping specifications using AOP. This approach is weighted against manual development of wrappers using an industrial case study. Criteria are the relative code length and the increase of automation.