@inproceedings{5efff7a96de24c42bfa56e634d75e6fc,
title = "Model Transformation Languages under a Magnifying Glass: A Controlled Experiment with Xtend, ATL, and QVT",
abstract = "In Model-Driven Software Development, models are processed automatically to support the creation, build, and execution of systems. A large variety of dedicated model-transformation languages exists, promising to efficiently realize the automated processing of models. To investigate the actual benefit of using such specialized languages, we performed a large-scale controlled experiment in which 78 subjects solved 231 individual tasks using three languages. The experiment sheds light on commonalities and differences between model transformation languages (ATL, QVT-O) and on benefits of using them in common development tasks (comprehension, change, and creation) against a modern general-purpose language (Xtend). The results of our experiment show no statistically significant benefit of using a dedicated transformation language over a modern general-purpose language. However, we were able to identify several aspects of transformation programming where domain-specific transformation languages do appear to help, including copying objects, context identification, and conditioning the computation on types.",
author = "Regina Hebig and Christoph Seidl and Thorsten Berger and {Kook Pedersen}, John and Andrzej Wasowski",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.18420/se2019-25",
language = "English",
series = "Lecture Notes in Informatics",
publisher = "Gesellschaft fur Informatik (GI)",
pages = "91--92",
booktitle = "Software Engineering and Software Management, SE/SWM 2019, Stuttgart, Germany, February 18-22, 2019",
address = "Germany",
note = "Software Engineering and Software Management, SE/SWM ; Conference date: 01-01-2019",
}