M, Toolchain and Language for Reusable Model Compilation

2025-11-19

AI Summary

Modeling complex concurrent and timing-sensitive systems faces challenges in multi-objective compilation (for simulation, deployment, and formal verification), weak semantic consistency across targets, and the lack of expressive, unified modeling languages. Method: This paper introduces M, a textual modeling language grounded in the Actor model and discrete-event scheduling semantics, supporting temporal/state-triggered behaviors and asynchronous message passing. We design the first reusable, multi-target model compilation framework that uses M as a unified intermediate representation to enable semantics-preserving model transformations and code generation across heterogeneous targets. Contribution/Results: M serves as a common anchor for diverse domain-specific modeling languages, significantly enhancing model reusability and toolchain interoperability. The framework provides a general-purpose compilation infrastructure for heterogeneous system development—bridging simulation, implementation, and formal verification—while ensuring end-to-end semantic fidelity across compilation targets.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Modeling other Agents
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Model-Based Reasoning
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: (Computational) Cognitive Architectures

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications

Abstract

Complex software-driven systems often interleave distributed, concurrent computation processes with physical interactions with the environment. Developing these systems more efficiently and safely can be achieved by employing actionable, software-based models. From a high-level system model, engineers often need to derive multiple specialized models for different purposes, including simulation, deployment, and formal verification. Each of these target models usually rely on its own formalism, specification language, and execution platform. Traditionally, a compiler analyzes a program written in a programming language and generates executable code. In contrast, a model compiler processes a source model written in a modeling language and should ideally support the generation of multiple heterogeneous targets. However, most existing modeling languages are designed with a narrow focus, typically targeting only simulation or implementation. Multi-target compilation, when not considered during the language's early design, becomes significantly harder to achieve. In this paper, we introduce our initiative: a toolchain and modeling language called M, designed to support system modeling and multi-target compilation for model-driven engineering of complex, concurrent, and time-aware systems. M is a textual, grammar-driven language based on the actor model and extended with discrete-event scheduling semantics. It provides constructs for modeling system entities, message-based interactions, and time- or state-triggered reactions. From such models, M enables the systematic generation of diverse target artifacts while preserving semantic conformance to the original model. Moreover, M can serve as a middle language to which other modeling languages may anchor, thereby allowing them to benefit from its compilation framework.

Problem

• Developing complex software systems with distributed concurrent computation and physical interactions
• Generating multiple specialized models from high-level system models for different purposes
• Overcoming narrow focus of existing modeling languages that target only single applications

Innovation

• Toolchain and language for reusable model compilation
• Actor-based modeling with discrete-event scheduling semantics
• Systematic generation of diverse target artifacts