Semi-automated software integration using logical specifications: An application to numerical simulation software

This paper addresses a problem of semi-automated enterprise application integration. More closely it discusses a problem of integration of numerical simulation components in the area of manufacturing engineering information systems. An approach based on annotation of software interfaces with formal logical specifications is proposed. Logical inference procedure is used to choose appropriate enterprise software component depending on client requests. First of all the paper presents the problem and difficulties of integration of numerical simulation solvers and manufacturing engineering solutions in general. This is followed by the description of the methodology of semi-automated integration based on use of Description Logics, developed by Mikhail Kazakov within the framework of his Ph.D. thesis [7]. Further the details on the software implementation of the methodology are provided, and two software prototypes are described: 1) a meta-model based generic ontological editor (DL-workbench) and 2) an integration environment (DL-integrator) that guides a user through the methodology.