Re: [gmt-dev] evolving GMT in a fully open process that allowsothers to

["Jorn Bettin" <jorn.bettin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jim,

> I'm a little concerned about this. As I understand it, the definition of
> what is and isn't a metamodel has little or nothing to do with UML, and
> everything to do with MOF. That is, a model is a metamodel iff it is
> written in MOF. The UML metamodel is just one metamodel, and a "model"
> of, for example, petri-nets, is a metamodel if it is defined in MOF,
> regardless of any relationship, or lack thereof, to UML.

Your description is limited to the OMG's view of the world. Many people use
UML and UML tools to define meta models, some use the Fuut-je tool model to
define meta models, and the list goes on. Hope my other email has provided
some clarification.

Of course there is a significant value in standardisation, that's why I
quite like the idea of using Ecore. The downside of standardisation is
always the design-by-committee aspect, which leads to spurious complexity,
which in turn sows the seed for balkanisation - exactly the opposite of
standardisation.

About standardisation in general:

The best chance of success is to leverage the small kernel of a standard
that is so essential that everyone is guaranteed to use it. Beyond that, you
have to rely on the goodwill of those who come together to achieve
interoperability. I think the goodwill in an open source context is
significantly larger than the goodwill within the OMG - a forum consisting
of competing vendors, where every vendor tries to carve out opportunities to
shine with a specific offering.

In the end market economics determine the level of interoperability that
organisations are comfortable with. Customers push for higher
interoperability, and vendors do make consessions where they can see
opportunities in terms of attracting customers - but they make sure that
there is some mechanism to keep customers from switching to the competition.
Don't underestimate the non-technical forces that are at work here.

In the realm of software infrastructure (and I include all software
development tools under the heading "infrastructure") the Open Source model
offers a powerful mechanism for customer organisations to push the balance
further in favour of standardisation and interoperability.

Jorn

Jorn Bettin
jorn.bettin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.softmetaware.com
Tel  +64 9 372 3073 | Mobile +64 27 448 3507 | Fax +64 9 372 3534