1. A Study of Variability Models and Languages in the Systems
Software Domain
Abstract
Variability models represent the common and variable features of products
in a product line. Since the introduction of FODA in 1990, several variability
modeling languages have been proposed in academia and industry, followed by
hundreds of research papers on variability models and modeling. However, little is
known about the practical use of such languages. We study the constructs,
semantics, usage, and associated tools of two variability modeling languages, K
config and CDL, which are independently developed outside academia and used in
large and significant software projects. We analyze 128 variability models found in
12 open--source projects using these languages. Our study 1) supports variability
modeling research with empirical data on the real-world use of its flagship
concepts. However, we 2) also provide requirements for concepts and mechanisms
that are not commonly considered in academic techniques, and 3) challenge
assumptions about size and complexity of variability models made in academic
papers. These results are of interest to researchers working on variability modeling
and analysis techniques and to designers of tools, such as feature dependency
checkers and interactive product configurations.

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