Multiform Time in UML for Real-time Embedded Applications

Each domain has its own interpretation of time. We propose to extend UML, which is more and more used in the domain of real-time embedded applications, with a concept of time inherited from reactive system modeling : multiform time. After a brief review of some UML profiles, we present our extensions and we illustrate - on an example from the automotive industry - how to represent and to constraint behaviors depending on multiform time. We advocate that this model of time offers wider possibilities than restricting models only to the physical time.