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Welcome to the exff EXPRESS/UML Page
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exff EXPRESS/UML Page
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Introduction

The schemas in STEP are written using the ISO EXPRESS language. The purpose of the exff EXRPRESS/UML Page is to support implementors and modelers using UML in conjunction with EXPRESS.

STEP Support Status

ISO 10303-25 Edition 1 (Part 25) standardized a one-way mapping from EXPRESS 1 to UML 1.5 for use in implementations. In that usage scenario, UML is simply an abstraction of a programming language like C++. Part 25 Edition 2 development is underway to to two things:

  1. extend the current mapping to cover EXPRESS 2;
  2. add a new two-way mapping enabling the use of UML tools to define EXPRESS (i.e. to support UML/EXPRESS mapping for doing modeling, not implementation).

Part 25 Edition 2

Meetings on a second edition of Part 25 started at the ISO STEP meeting in Bath, UK in July of 2004. Links to presentations and other documents from those meetings follow.

Developing the UML 1.5 Profile for EXPRESS 2

At Seattle the following approach to development of this profile was agreed:

  1. Publish proposed approach to representing each EXPRESS 2 concept in UML 1.5
  2. Publish test suite: EXPRESS and correspond UML model diagrams
  3. Team members use various UML tools to test creating the diagrams from the test suite
  4. Team members provide feedback and raise issues on proposal
  5. Team members address issues and re-publish proposal

The latest proposal and test suite can always be found here.

MOF of EXPRESS for OMG ODM

OMG has a project called the Ongology Definition Metamodel. Several organizations with EXPRESS experts that are OMG members are working on the possible inclusion of EXPRESS as an Ontology Definition language. The following documents are available for review and comment.