Bringing semantics to feature models with SAFMDL

Software product line engineering is a paradigm that advocates the reusability of software engineering assets and the rapid development of new applications for a target domain. These objectives are achieved by capturing the commonalities and variabilities between the applications of a target domain and through the development of comprehensive and variability-covering domain models. The domain models developed within the software product line development process need to cover all of the possible features and aspects of the target domain. In other words, the domain models often described using feature models should be elaborate representations of the feature space of that domain. In order to operationalize feature-based representations of a software application, appropriate implementation mechanisms need to be employed. In this paper, we propose a Semantic Web-oriented language, called Semantic Annotations for Feature Modeling Description Language (SAFMDL) that provides the means to semantically describe feature models. We will show that using SAFMDL along with Semantic Web Query techniques, we are able to bridge the gap between software product lines and SOA technology. Our proposed work allows software practitioners to use Semantic Web technology to quickly and rapidly develop new software products based on SOA technology from software product lines.