Reviews : Java MetaData Interface (JMI) :

MOF Overview:

MOF also provides a layered architecture consisting of data, models, metamodels and a single meta-metamodel. Each layer is an abstraction of the layer below it. The lowest level is the data layer, which comprises the actual data. Examples are database records, application objects. The second layer is the model layer, which describes the format and semantics of the actual data. Examples of model layer objects are database schema model, which represent data. The model layer is also called M1 or the metadata layer. The third layer is the metamodel Layer also called the M2 layer. This describes the semantics and structure of the metadata. An example of the M2 layer is a database system table that describes the format of a table definition. The meta- metamodel Layer or the M3 layer provides the last layer of abstraction. This layer describes the semantics and structure of the meta-metadata.

Apart from providing the modeling infrastructure the MOF provides an IDL mapping interface to help in manipulating metadata. MOF provides an IDL mapping which in turn provides an IDL based API. The API can be used to manipulate data contained in the different instances of the metamodel. The MOF provides language neutral models that capture the semantics of the system that is being modeled. This helps system architects to work with complex systems by visualizing the metadata available for the system instead of knowing all the intricacies of the system.

To add more flexibility MOF provides a set of reflective API's, which provide introspection services for manipulating complex information. The MOF reflective API works like the Java reflection feature of J2EE and allows information to be accessed dynamically. The Reflective API does not need to use the API generated by the MOF to perform IDL mapping.

OMG defines the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) with the help of MOF. MOF provides the technology and domain metamodels that are the used in the MDA framework. These metamodels are represented in UML (Since MOF can use UML) and will define all aspects of the environment from different perspectives and levels of abstraction. The MDA can use these metamodels to model architectures using the MDA.

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