ATL/User Manual/Conclusion

This manual introduces both the ATL transformation language and the development environment that was designed for it. In a first part, the document proposes a brief overview of the model transformation area in which it introduces the model transformation concepts that are used in the rest of the manual. In a second part, it provides the complete reference of the ATL language, describing the syntactic structure of the different types of ATL units (e.g., ATL modules, queries and libraries). It also provides a comprehensive overview of the execution semantics of these different units. The last part of this manual was dedicated to the description of the ATL development environment.

The reader may have note that both the ATL language and its associated development environment still suffer from some limitations. As an example, the ATL compiler does not enable developers to define helpers or attributes in the context of a collection type. In the same way, the provided debugger does not allow developers to navigate the content of the attributes defined in the context of the ATL module. There however exist some on-going development efforts that aim to correct know problems and limitations of both the language and its development environment. Further developments will also provide new functionalities, in particular by extending the capabilities of the AM3 (ATL MegaModel Management) component. ATL developers are therefore encouraged to keep aware of the ATL actuality by means of the ATL discussion board. New releases of versions, of resources (transformation examples, metamodels, etc.) and documentations are therefore prioritary announced onto this dedicated discussion board.