ALBA: a model-driven framework for the automatic generation of android location-based apps

In recent years, the number of smartphone users has increased dramatically. These users download millions of apps and use them for various services. Due to the significant demand for mobile apps, developers often seek faster development methods and more effective tools and techniques to generate the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Automated software engineering 2021-05, Vol.28 (1), p.2-2, Article 2
Main Authors: Gharaat, Mohammadali, Sharbaf, Mohammadreza, Zamani, Bahman, Hamou-Lhadj, Abdelwahab
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applications programs
Artificial Intelligence
Automated Software Engineering for Mobile Applications
Automation
Case studies
College campuses
Computer Science
Constraint modelling
Experiments
Geographical locations
Language
Location based services
Location of industry
Market shares
Mobile computing
Smartphones
Software engineering
Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems
Usability
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Summary:In recent years, the number of smartphone users has increased dramatically. These users download millions of apps and use them for various services. Due to the significant demand for mobile apps, developers often seek faster development methods and more effective tools and techniques to generate these apps. Many of these apps are location-based apps in which users receive services based on their geographical location. In this paper, we propose a model-driven approach for the automatic generation of Android location-based mobile apps. Our framework, called ALBA, consists of a domain-specific modeling language, a modeling tool, and a plugin which includes model to code transformations. The modeling tool enables a novice designer to model a location-based app. The model is validated against the predefined constraints and the editor prevents creating invalid models. The designer uses the plugin to generate the Android code of the app. The evaluation of our work is two fold. First, to evaluate the generalizability of the ALBA framework, we conducted an experiment which includes the generation of four industrial location-based apps. Second, to evaluate the usability and quality of both the framework and the generated apps, we conducted a case study consists of three experiments. The results of the evaluation are promising both in terms of the applicability of the framework and the quality of the generated apps.
ISSN:0928-8910
1573-7535
DOI:10.1007/s10515-020-00278-3