Scientific workflows with the jABC framework: A review after a decade in the field

Anna Lena Lamprecht, Bernhard Steffen, Tiziana Margaria

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The jABC is a framework for process modelling and execution according to the XMDD (eXtreme model-driven design) paradigm, which advocates the rigorous use of user-level models in the software development process and software life cycle. We have used the jABC in the domain of scientific workflows for more than a decade now—an occasion to look back and take stock of our experiences in the field. On the one hand, we discuss results from the analysis of a sample of nearly 100 scientific workflow applications that have been implemented with the jABC. On the other hand, we reflect on our experiences and observations regarding the workflow development process with the framework. We then derive and discuss ongoing further developments and future perspectives for the framework, all with an emphasis on simplicity for end users through increased domain specificity. Concretely, we describe how the use of the PROPHETS synthesis plugin can enable a semantics-based simplification of the workflow design process, how with the jABC4 and DyWA frameworks more attention is paid to the ease of data management, and how the Cinco SCCE Meta-Tooling Suite can be used to generate tailored workflow management tools.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)629-651
Number of pages23
JournalInternational Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer
Volume18
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2016

Keywords

  • Automatic workflow composition
  • Loose programming
  • Model-driven design
  • Process modeling
  • Scientific workflows
  • Workflow modeling

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