Using Constraints in Teaching Software Modeling

Abstract

The paper presents an approach to teaching software modeling that has been put into practice at the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca and Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse. This aims at persuading students of the advantages deriving from the usage of rigorous models. The development of such models, which relies on the Design by Contract technique, is a must in the context of the Model-Driven Engineering paradigm. Another goal of our approach is for students to acquire core software modeling principles and techniques, allowing them to identify and avoid various types of pitfalls enclosed by the modeling examples posted on web. Following a decade of use and teaching of OCL, we have concluded that starting with a defense of the necessity and advantages offered by the use of constraints (an “inverted curriculum” approach) is a far more efficient teaching method compared to a pure technical introduction into the language itself.