Towards a Rational Taxonomy for Increasingly Symmetric Model Synchronization

A pipeline of unidirectional model transformations is a wellunderstood architecture for model driven engineering tasks such as model compilation or view extraction. However, modern applications require a shift towards networks of models related in various ways, whose synchronization often needs to be incremental and bidirectional. This new situation demands new features from transformation tools and a solid semantic foundation. We address the latter by presenting a taxonomy of model synchronization types, organized into a 3D-space. Each point in the space refers to its set of synchronization requirements and a corresponding algebraic structure modeling the intended semantics. The space aims to help with identifying and communicating the right tool and theory for the synchronization problem at hand. It also intends to guide future theoretical and tool research.