Evaluation of some CASE tools for reverse engineering and application generators University of...

Evaluation of some CASE tools for reverse engineering and application

generators

Evaluation of some CASE tools for reverse engineering and application

generators

University of ZagrebFaculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing

Krešimir Fertalj

2FER-ZPR, Fertalj: Evaluation of some CASE and Generators, DAAD workshop, Risan, sept 2007.

Computer-aided software engineering

Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) Software to support software development and evolution processes

[Sommerville]. Automated software tool used by systems analysts to develop information

systems [Hoffer et al].

CASE Classification [Sommerville] Functional perspective

• Tools are classified according to their specific function. Process perspective

• Tools are classified according to process activities that are supported. Integration perspective

• Tools are classified according to their organisation into integrated units.


Tool classification

Specification Design Implementation Verificationand

Validation

Re-engineering tools

Testing tools

Debugging tools

Program analysis tools

Language-processingtools

Method support tools

Prototyping tools

Configurationmanagement tools

Change management tools

Documentation tools

Editing tools

Planning tools

Functional perspective

Process perspective


CASE integration

Tools Support individual

process tasks such as design consistency checking, text editing, etc.

Workbenches Support a process

phase such as specification or design, Normally include a number of integrated tools.

Environments Support all or a

substantial part of an entire software process. Normally include several integrated workbenches.

Single-methodworkbenches

General-purposeworkbenches

Multi-methodworkbenches

Language-specificworkbenches

Programming TestingAnalysis and

design

Integratedenvironments

Process-centredenvironments

Filecomparators

CompilersEditors

EnvironmentsWorkbenchesTools

CASEtechnology


Components of CASE [Hoffer et al]

Upper CASE CASE tools designed to support the information planning and the project identification

and selection, project initiation and planning, analysis and design phases of the SDLC Lower CASE

CASE tools designed to support the implementation and maintenance phases of the SDLC

Cross life-cycle CASE CASE tools designed to support activities that occur across multiple phases of the

SDLC Integrated CASE (I-CASE)

Automated systems development environment that provides numerous tools to create diagrams, forms and reports, and code generation facilities, by using the central repository

Types of CASE tools Diagramming tools Computer display and report generators Analysis tools used to check for incomplete, inconsistent or incorrect specifications A central repository Documentation generators Code generators

UML Tools for Reverse Engineering

UML Tools for Reverse Engineering


Evaluation of Reverse Engineering Capabilities

Basic reverse engineering steps (in general) Decompilation of executables to get

the source code Analysis of software components to

produce the models

Evaluation of CASE tools capable of source code analysis Analysis of application Bank,

described in Rational Application Developer V6 Programming Guide, available at ftp://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/SG246449/6449code.zip


Candidate ToolsTool URL License

Operating systems

Supported languages

AmaterasUML Eclipse plugin

1.2.2 http://amateras.source.jp free

Microsoft Windows Linux

Mac OS X Java

ArgoUML 0.24 http://argouml.tigris.org free

Microsoft Windows

Linux Mac OS X

Java

IBM Rational Software

Architect 7.0

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/ awdtools/architect/swarchitect/index.

html comm

Microsoft Windows

Linux Java

JGrasp 1.8.6 http://www.jgrasp.org/ free Microsoft Windows Mac OS X

Java

Microsoft Visio 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/default.aspx

comm Microsoft Windows

C++ C#

Visual Basic

NetBeans 5.5 http://www.netbeans.org/ free

Microsoft Windows Linux

Mac OS X Solaris

Java

StarUML 5.0 http://staruml.sourceforge.net/en free Microsoft Windows

Java C++ C#

VisualParadigm for UML 6.0

Enterprise Edition

http://www.visual-paradigm.com comm Microsoft Windows

Java C++ Ada PHP


AmaterasUML Eclipse plugin

Does not recognize relationships between classes. No automatic layout feature. Diagram can be saved only as JPEG image. Eclipse can crash for models with 50 classes or more. No automatic synchronization between diagram and source code.


ArgoUML

The tool can analyze whole folders but has no filter to choose only interesting components

Raster formats (PNG i GIF) and vector formats (SVG, PS and EPS) Check list of actions recommended to improve the code Automatic sync of source code with diagrams, but not vice versa


IBM Rational Software Architect 7.0

Drag&drop selection of components to be analyzed

Raster (GIF, BMP, JPEG, PNG) and vector (SVG) formats

RSA recognizes inheritance but not associations (although the tested code was generated by the RSA v6 !?)

Full sync of code and diagrams


jGRASP

Import of individual components into project Shows only classes, not attributes nor methods Missing associations, other relationships are shown only when the

source is compiled by using the tool Several automatic layout features, all of them weak No feature to export diagrams as graphics


NetBeans

Complete development environment

Good automatic layout features (hierarchical, orthogonal, symmetric)

Raster (JPEG, PNG) and vector (SVG) formats supported

No sync between diagrams and code

Very robust


StarUML

Java analyzed package by package Automatic layout supported by default Raster (JPEG i BMP) and vector (EMF i WMF) exports supported Synchronization between diagrams and code possible For models with over 50 classes, some objects may not be shown

on diagram


VisualParadigm for UML

Instant reverse wizard Analysis of folders and ZIP archives The tool is capable of analyzing both JAR and class files Good automatic layout feature Raster (JPEG, PNG) and vector (SVG i EMF) formats Generation of various reports (HTML, PDF, Word, etc.) Java Round-trip feature to keep source and diagrams in sync


Conclusions regarding evaluated UML tools

Visual Paradigm is the only tool that enables preview of complete structure of the project. It can be integrated into Eclipse and NetBeans IDEs.

ArgoUML, NetBeans and StarUML very useful where there is no need to analyze project as a whole.

IBM Rational Software Architect shows some unexpected weaknesse.

The other tools are not mature enough.

Code GeneratorsCode Generators


Forms of Active Code Generation [Herrington]

Code munging inputs source code files, most likely using regular expressions or simple

source parsing, and then uses built-in or external templates to build output Inline code expanding

takes source code as input and creates production code as output, by expanding special markups

Mixed-code generation reads a source code file and then modifies and replaces the file in place, e.g.

by looking for and filling specially formatted comments Partial-class generation

reads an abstract definition file that contains enough information to build a set of classes. Next, it uses templates to build the output base class libraries.

Tier or layer generation the generator builds one complete tier of an n-tier system. An example of tier generation is model-driven generation, wherein a UML

authoring application is used in conjunction with a generator and an input definition file (often in XML) to output one or more tiers of a system.


CodeSmith Template based tool that

generates C#, VB, J# or any other ASCII based programming language.

The templates can be customized by using the syntax similar to ASP.NET

Standard and Pro edition.

Some features CodeSmith Studio - IDE Fast Compiler & Template Caching –

compilation and execution of templates Template Debugging XML support Console client – automated generation SQL script execution


Iron Speed Generator of .NET Web Applications

generates UI, web page logic, data access layer cappable of generating almost 80% of application application logic should be coded manually Enterprise, Pro and Free edition.

Some features Application wizard Page style templates Role based security Menu configuration ...


MyGeneration

Template based generator Templates can be written by using JScript, VBScript, C#, VB.NET.

Supported architectures: dOOdads, EntitySpaces, EasyObjects.NET/EntLib, Gentle.NET, Opf3,

NHibernate, Microsoft's DAAB, DotNetNuke, iBatis.

Supported databases: Microsoft SQL, Oracle, IBM DB2, PostgreSQL, Microsoft Access, FireBird,

Interbase, VistaDB, SQLite, MySQL, Advantage, Pervasive


Mia-Generation

Model based generator, link between UML modeling tools and IDEs

Main features: UML model based Support for Rose,

Rhapsody, Together, Poseidon and other XMI tools

Code generation based on templates

Templates written in Java Integration of manually

written source code Support for all major

technologies (Microsoft, Java/J2EE, etc)


Conclusions Regarding Code Generators

Properly used, the source code generators can Shorten the coding time Reduce the number of errors Make customization of programs more efficient Contribute to writing of consistent and quality code

Potential risks Dependability on producer of the tool Bad applications as the result of bad templates Use of inadequate tools or templates can be contra productive

Web Application Generators Web Application Generators


Web Application Generators Context

Web applications today more and more common and complex replacing stand-alone applications in many areas often object-oriented, n-tier extensive data input, reporting

common problems with development slower than development of stand-alone or client applications client and server code

Evaluated Tools CodeCharge CodeJay Visual Studio .NET ASP.NET WebMatrix


Supported Technologies

Web Servers often determine the programming language used (i.e. IIS and ASP) script engine process the dynamic Web pages

Web Programming Languages ASP, JSP, PHP, ColdFusion, Perl, ASP.NET, Java servlets,... languages: compiled, interpreted; object-oriented sometimes require unique approach for problem solution

Databases database connection technologies: OLEDB, ODBC, JDBC, ... different databases supported:

• Informix, Access, SQL Server, Oracle, mySQL, PostgreSQL,... Web applications usually optimized for one database different connection settings, SQL commands, features generating SQL statements using visual relationships between tables

(WebMatrix)


Features of Web Application Generators

Integrated Development Environments (IDE) and Wizards HTML designer, code editor, Web page preview, debugger application builders and wizards Visual Studio.NET – advanced development platform, but lacking code

generation features editing projects with other development tools

Security management Often depending on system’s architecture, database design, user roles, use

of cookies, etc. Some simple/more advanced autorization scenarios can be generated

automatically given specific parameters (CodeCharge)



Forms Basis of the majority of Web applications Most challenging part of the application (user input data validation, database

access, interaction with other controls on the page) Errors in design can result in corrupted data in the database and application

instability Knowing the database table structure most generators can generate different

types of forms User-friendly forms often require manual modification of generated code –

good quality code is essential

Reports Easier to implement, especially reports with no user input Common problems: multiple level selection reports, paging Visual representation of data is helpful



Templates and customizable design Consistent appearance accross pages helps users Templates often use CSS to achieve that Changing the template involves updating links to all pages to new style sheet

(CodeCharge)

Menus and navigation Limited support by Web application generators Stand-alone menu with links to other pages Various third party components for Web menus

Publishing LAN, FTP, FrontPage extensions Synchronization of files


Quality of Generated Code

Separation of server-side code and Web page design Should be used when supported by the language ASP.NET provides framework for that separation

• ASPX files: HTML and bound fields

• Code behind files: getting the data and preparing it for display Easier design changes Better code reuse

Linear or Object-oriented design Large applications require further code separation

• database access classes

• business layer(s) Database access class enables:

• Multiple database support

• Easier error handling and logging Generating one form may result in many files and classes OO approach also useful in defining general page layout



Code Maintenance and Modification Can all desired functions be generated? Code readability Support for external developer tools and integration Use on existing projects Code duplication or library

Database Access Code and Stored Procedures Support for both SQL statements in code and stored procedures (both

needed in some cases) Using stored procedures as data source Generating stored procedures SQL statements outside database access classes – usually harder to

maintain and reuse Mixing SQL and HTML code should be avoided (CodeJay)



Error Handling and Logging Centralized error handling supported by several programming languages

(e.g. ASP.NET) Logging all relevant events and errors (with context) to database increases

security and debugging

Comments and Documentation Generated code needs customization Comments explaining generated code Comments showing where to insert the custom code Automatic generation of documentation often not supported


Conclusions regarding Web application generators

Many Web application generators on the market

Quick results on new projects, harder customization

Often not implementing best programming practices

Inability to fully customize code generation process

A limited number of real projects can fully benefit from Web application generators

ReferencesReferences


References

F. Budinsky et. al: Automatic Code Design from Design Patterns, Toronto Software Laboratory, T.J. Watson Research Center.

E. Eilam: Reversing : Secrets of Reversing Engineering, Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana. 2005.

T. Helman, K. Fertalj: “A Critique of Web Application Generators”, Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Information Technology Interfaces, June 16-19, 2003, Cavtat, Croatia, ISBN 953-96769-6-7, pp. 639-644.

J. Herrington: Code Generation in Action, Manning Publications, 2003. J. A. Hoffer, J. F. George, J. S. Valacich: Modern Systems Analysis and

Design, 3/e, Prentice Hall College Div, 2001. R.S. Pressman: Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, 6/e,

McGraw-Hill, 2004. I. Sommerville: Software Engineering, 7th ed. Addison-Wesley Publishing

Company. 2004.


URLs

http://amateras.source.jp http://argouml.tigris.org http://www.codecharge.com http://www.codejay.com/ http://www.codesmithtools.com/ http://www.codegeneration.net/ http://www.jgrasp.org/ http://www.ironspeed.com/ http://www.mia-software.com http://www.mygenerationsoftware.com http://www.netbeans.org/ http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/architect/swarchitect/index.html http://staruml.sourceforge.net/en http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/default.aspx http://www.visual-paradigm.com http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/

Date post:	20-Dec-2015
Category:	Documents
View:	217 times
Download:	0 times

Evaluation of some CASE tools for reverse engineering and application generators University of...

Documents