Re: Question: How do I derive the Functional Syntax grammar from the Diagrams?

> > Hi!
> >
> > After the Metamodel session at F2F3, I am still confused about one  
> > point:
> > How is it possible to automatically generate the Functional Syntax  
> > grammar
> > from the diagrams?
> 
> Think of the Metamodel as a nondeterministic machine and a concrete  
> grammar as *one* run of that machine. Different runs can make  
> different choices thus ending up with different grammars that conform  
> to the abstract description.
> 
> Thus, to generate a particular grammar you have to additionally  
> specify some choices.

And, of course, the diagrams have similar additional (arbitrary)
information, namely placement.  For RIF, I developed an abstract syntax
[1] that had none of this extraneous information, thinking it would be
what we maintained.  But then I learned that (not too surprisingly) the
layout of UML diagrams, while having no formal semantics, is very
important to users.  Changing the layout changes the impression people
will have of the modeled system.

    -- Sandro

[1] http://www.w3.org/2005/rules/wg/wiki/asn07