Comparative evaluation of model transformation specification approaches

Model transformations have become a key element of model-driven software development, being used to transform platform-independent models to platform-specific models, to improve model quality, to introduce design patterns and refactorings, and to map models from one language to another. A large number of model transformation notations and tools exist. However, there are no guidelines on how to select appropriate notations for
particular model transformation tasks, and no comprehensive comparisons of the relative merits of particular approaches. In this paper we provide a unified semantic treatment of model transformations, and show how correctness properties of model transformations can
be defined using this semantics. We evaluate several approaches which have been developed for model transformation specification, with respect to their expressivity, complexity and
support for verification, and make recommendations for resolving the outstanding problems
concerning model transformation specification.