Metacase tools, based on the metamodel, allow us to
separate notation from the methodology definition, so a change in the methodology
will reflect in the tool with a few changes (or without change) in the code. To be
included in the metacase tool a metamodel must be well defined so it must answer
to three important requirements: a metamodel must be:
???. Complete. It must cover all the primitives of the methodology that represent.
???. Extensible. Metamodel must follow the methodology evolution so it will be
possible to adapt the metamodel in a simple way without redefining it from
scratch.
???. Semantic. Metamodel must express all the semantics of the methodology
primitives in order to give the right meaning to each element.
To avoid confusion between metamodel and model, we explain the meta-object
facility (MOF) approach to meta-model proposed by the Object Management Group
(OMG) (http://www.omg.org). MOF architecture is very helpful because it allows
us to separate, in a simple way, the concept of the meta-model from the concept of
the model: A model will be an instantiation of the meta-model.
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