Feature-Based Customisation of Tool Environments for Model-Driven Software Development

Model-driven software development (MDSD) bridges the gap between domain-specific abstractions and general purpose implementation languages and promises enhanced productivity for software engineering. The availability and appropriateness of tool environments supporting the developer is a crucial factor for such productivity promises. The widespread use of MDSD on various domains means a special challenge for the development of MDSD environments. Tool users expect advanced tools customised for the very special domain they are working in. However, tool development and customisation is a complex and expensive task. To address these challenges we propose to apply the principles of software product line engineering (SPLE) for feature-based customisation of MDSD tool environments. This paper is an experience report for the development of a product-line of MDSD tool environments that employ ontology technology to advance MDSD. Finally, we discuss the lessons learned as well as the benefits and challenges observed for feature-based tool customisation.