Claimed Advantages and Disadvantages of (dedicated) Model Transformation Languages: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

There exists a plethora of claims about the advantages and disadvantages of model transformation languages compared to general purpose programming languages. With our work, published at the Software and Systems Modelling Journal in 2020[GTG2020], we aim to create an overview over these claims in literature and systematize evidence thereof. For this purpose we conducted a systematic literature review by following a systematic process for searching and selecting relevant publications and extracting data. We selected a total of 58 publications, categorized claims about model transformation languages into 14 separate groups and conceived a representation to track claims and evidence through literature. From our results we conclude that: (i) current literature claims many advantages of model transformation languages but also points towards certain deficits and (ii) there is insufficient evidence for claimed advantages and disadvantages and (iii) a lack of research interest into the verification of claims.