Mapping-Based Exchange of Models Between Meta-Modeling Tools

The exchange of models between meta-modeling tools is an important requirement. Tools often only cover a certain task in the development process. The exchange of models between different tools is necessary for covering a complete development process. Besides the aspect of cooperation, exchange of models also enables the replacement of old tools by new tools that better fit the customer's needs. In order to avoid the vendor lock-in effect, model exchange allows the reuse of existing models. In this paper, we focus on the problem of model exchange and present an mapping-based approach between different meta-modeling tools. The approach is centered around a declarative mapping language with a graphical notation and a solution for connecting different meta-modeling tools. We apply our approach to exchange models between MetaEdit+ and Microsoft Visio.