In section 7.3.2.3 of the KerML specification, the statement is made that, "Specializations are relationships between types, identified as specific and general, indicating that all instances of the specific type are instances of the general one...." This statement, or a similar one conveying the same idea, is absent from the SysML v2 specification. Instead, the treatment of specialization in section 7.6.1 of the SysML v2 specification focuses entirely on inheritance of features. The SysML v2 specification should clarify that specialization also conveys the semantics of subtyping, as is described in the KerML specification. This concept is really foundational to object oriented modeling (and ontology), even more essential in modeling than it is in object oriented programming.
The specification also would be strengthened by including explicit examples of the implications of subtyping within a model, e.g.,
1. In 7.12.1, the statement is made that "Two features match if they have conforming definitions and either both have no direction or they have conjugate directions," but there is no explanation in the SysML v2 specification as to what it means to conform. If A specializes B, then would an in port defined by B match with an out port defined by A? It should, since an in port defined by B, which therefore expects to receive payloads having a specification compatible with the specification of B, should be able to accept a payload defined by A.
2. In 7.21.1, the statement is made that, "A requirement usage can only be satisfied by an entity that conforms to the definition of its subject," but there is no explanation in the SysML v2 specification as to what it means to conform. If the requirement usage specifies a subject defined by B, and A specializes B, then would a subject defined by A be sufficient to satisfy that requirement for satisfaction? It should, since any A is also a B.
These are two examples, among many, where such clarifications of the semantics of subtyping and their implications on SysML v2 models should be addressed in Clause 7 of the SysML v2 specification to ensure model users and modeling tool developers have consistent expectations of the semantics of specialization.