EAI — The use of FCMTerminals on an EAICallAdapter

Document: UML Profile and Interchange Models for EAI
Section: 6.3.11.3 (EAICallAdapter)

Description:
In Section 6.3.11.3, an EAICallAdapter is defined as a specialization of FCMFunction (see Figure 6-23). Now, an FCMFunction invokes a single FCMOperation (see Figure 6-2). The terminals of an FCMFunction represent the FCMParameters of the FCMOperation (see Figure 6-6 and discussion in Section 6.2.5), with input terminals representing input parameters and output terminals representing output terminals (one assumes). However, the semantics of an EAICallAdapter are not properly reflected by the invocation of a single operation with the signature (input call, input handleReply, output request, output out). Rather, the semantics of an EAICallAdapter are to invoke the callToRequestMapping, wait for a reply and then call the replyToOutputMapping. Nevertheless, it is necessary to have EAIParameters that the request and handleReply terminals can represent, since that is the only way that message content typing can be provided for those terminals.

Recommendation:

Define the invoked operation for an EAICallAdapter as having the FCMParameters corresponding to the call and out FCMTerminals (this reflects that, from the point of view of the caller, the semantics of an EAICallAdapter is that of an operation with "call" as its input and "out" as its output). Add two associations from EAICallAdapter to EAIParameter (say, "requestParameter" and "replyParameter") and define derivation rules such that these are represented by the "request" and "handleReply" terminals (since the representation association is a derived association – see Figure 6-6).

see above