On the Need for Megamodels
Résumé
This note presents a preliminary view of what we call a "megamodel" i.e. some kind of registry for models and metamodels. A megamodel is a model of which at least some elements represent and/or refer to models or metamodels. An initial charac-terization of these megamodels as well as a de-scription of some of their potential usages is provided. We are presently experimenting with the concept of megamodel in our AMMP envi-ronment (ATLAS Model Management Platform). Some initial application of the concept of mega-model in the design of such model-driven soft-ware development platforms will be presented. Besides argumenting for the need to use mega-models in a variety of situations, the paper argues on the importance of this concept as an essential part of any model-driven software development platform.