Implementing a practical declarative logic-based model transformation engine

TL;DR: The design of specific features of the Tefkat transformation engine intended to facilitate writing and debugging declarative transformation specifications are discussed, and important implementation techniques used to avoid performance problems are described.

Abstract: Declarative approaches to specifying model-model transformation are an attractive approach because they can offer implicit source model traversal, automatic traceability management, implicit target object creation, and implicit rule ordering However, when proposing such a declarative logic-based transformation language, there are two common objections One is programmer unfamiliarity with declarative style, and the other is that of perceived performance problems In this paper we address these issues, discussing the design of specific features of the Tefkat transformation engine intended to facilitate writing and debugging declarative transformation specifications, and describing important implementation techniques used to avoid performance problems