How to Use model2owl

model2owl can be used in two ways:

  1. Locally – Running the transformations on your own machine.

  2. Online – Using the model2owl-boilerplate repository for automated execution.

Using model2owl Locally

Makefile

The Makefile automates various tasks such as running transformations, generating documentation, and executing tests. All commands are executed using the make build automation tool, which must be installed if not already available on your system.

Some make targets allow optional parameters. The project provides default values for parameters where applicable.

Example usage:

# Without parameters

make install

# With parameters

make owl-core XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH=/home/mypc/work/model2owl/file1.xml OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH=./my-folder

Setting Up Commands

The following commands are available for setting up dependencies:

  • get-saxon – Installs Saxon inside the project folder.

  • get-rdflib – Installs the RDFLib library.

  • get-widoco – Installs Widoco inside the project folder.

  • install – Executes all the above installation steps automatically.

  • create-virtual-env – Creates a Python virtual environment for the project.

Functional Commands

These commands execute transformations and generate outputs:

  • generate-glossary – Generates a glossary from the UML export (XML/XMI).

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_GLOSSARY_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • generate-convention-report – Generates a compliance report from the UML export in HTML format.

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_CONVENTION_REPORT_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • generate-convention-SVRL-report – Generates a compliance report from the UML export in SVRL format.

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_CONVENTION_REPORT_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • owl-core – Generates a lightweight ontology from the UML export.

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • owl-restrictions – Generates a heavyweight ontology with additional axioms for reasoning.

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • shacl – Generates SHACL data shapes suitable for validation.

    • Parameters:

      • XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the XMI file.

      • OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • generate-html-docs-from-rdf – Generates HTML documentation using Widoco from an RDF file.

    • Parameters:

      • WIDOCO_RDF_INPUT_FILE_PATH – Path to the RDF file.

      • OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • merge-xmi – Merges XMI files from a specified folder.

    • Parameters:

      • FIRST_XMI_TO_BE_MERGED_FILE_PATH – Path to the first XMI file.

      • XMI_MERGED_OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the output folder.

  • convert-to-turtle – Converts RDF files to Turtle format.

    • Parameters:

      • ONTOLOGY_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the folder containing RDF files.

  • convert-to-rdf – Converts Turtle files to RDF format.

    • Parameters:

      • ONTOLOGY_FOLDER_PATH – Path to the folder containing Turtle files.

Installation

Prerequisites

Ensure the following are installed on your system:

  • make

  • Python 3

Installation Steps

1.Clone model2owl repository:

git clone https://github.com/example/model2owl.git

2.Run the installation command:

make install

Note: If you do not have a virtual environment set up, create one using:

make create-virtual-env

# Then activate it:

source model2owl-venv/bin/activate

Configuration

The model2owl configuration consists of four files, which should be placed in a single folder:

  • config-parameters.xsl – Defines main configuration variables.

  • namespaces.xml – Lists namespaces used in the UML model.

  • umlToXsdDataTypes.xml – Maps UML data types to XSD.

  • xsdAndRdfDataTypes.xml – Defines data types used.

To set up, copy the default configuration files from the ePO-default-config folder to your new configuration folder.

All configuration files should be stored in one folder. Once the configuration is set, update config-proxy.xsl to point to the new configuration folder. The config-proxy.xsl file serves as a central link to the main configuration file for model2owl. It allows the tool to reference and apply the configuration stored at a specified location. By modifying this file, users can switch between different configuration sets.

Example:

# Update the path in config-proxy.xsl:
<xsl:import href="my-pc/user/my-config-folder/config-parameters.xsl"/>

Configuration Parameters

To adjust configuration settings, edit the config-parameters.xsl file.

Important notes:

  • Do not modify the namespacePrefixes, umlDataTypesMapping, or xsdAndRdfDataTypes variables.

  • Ensure any modified variable retains its original datatype (boolean, string, list).

Example of correct and incorrect datatype modification:
# Correct
<xsl:variable name="defaultNamespaceInterpretation" select="fn:true()"/>

# Incorrect (datatype mismatch)
<xsl:variable name="defaultNamespaceInterpretation" select="'new-value'"/>
xml

For more details about available variables and how they work, please visit the configuration parameters page

Namespaces Configuration

Namespaces Configuration

To add namespaces, edit namespaces.xml. There are two key tasks you can perform:

  • Defining a Namespace Prefix and URI

Add a prefix and its corresponding URI in the namespaces.xml file:

<prefix name="foaf" value="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"/>

  • Including an import statement in the output

For a namespace to appear as an import statement in the final output, add the importURI attribute:

<prefix name="dct" value="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" importURI="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"/>

This will result in the following OWL import statement in the output:

<owl:imports rdf:resource="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"/>

XSD and RDF Data Types

To define datatypes used in the UML model, edit xsdAndRdfDataTypes.xml:

<datatype namespace="xsd" qname="xsd:date"/>

UML to XSD Mappings

If the UML model uses custom datatypes, map them in umlToXsdDataTypes.xml:

<mapping>
    <from qname="epo:Date"/>
    <to qname="xsd:date"/>
</mapping>

Running Transformations

Once installed and configured, you can run different transformations using make commands. Each command generates specific artefacts that correspond to different key capabilities of model2owl.

Commands and Generated Files

  1. make owl-core – Generates a lightweight ontology from the UML model.

    • Generated File: <input-file>.rdf – Lightweight OWL Core ontology in RDF format.

  2. make owl-restrictions – Generates heavyweight ontology with additional axioms suitable for reasoning purposes.

    • Generated File: <input-file>_restrictions.rdf – OWL Restrictions ontology.

  3. make shacl – Generates SHACL shapes for data validation.

    • Generated File: <input-file>_shapes.rdf – SHACL shapes in RDF format.

  4. make generate-glossary – Generates an HTML glossary of terms extracted from the UML model.

    • Generated File: <input-file>_glossary.html – Glossary in HTML format.

  5. make generate-convention-report – Generates a compliance report from the UML model in HTML format, validating it against the conventions.

    • Generated File: <input-file>_convention_report.html – HTML compliance report.

  6. make generate-convention-SVRL-report – Generates a compliance report in SVRL format.

    • Generated File: <input-file>_convention_svrl_report.xml – SVRL compliance report.

Notes

  • <input-file> will be replaced with the name of the input XMI file (e.g., file1.rdf if the input is file1.xml).

  • These commands provide flexibility in generating individual artefacts or multiple artefacts based on your needs.

Example of transformation command:

make owl-core XMI_INPUT_FILE_PATH=/home/mypc/work/model2owl/file1.xml OUTPUT_FOLDER_PATH=./my-folder
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