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A selection of Computer Science, Informatics or similar study programs for academic studies evidently becomes an emerging choice of a vast number of students in recent years. To address some of the open questions, we performed an empirical study based on a survey, with a goal to find out the main motivating factors directing students to select computer science, informatics or similar programs for studying in a much greater extent. The survey was conducted on a sample of 1517 students from five well established, and most traditional faculties of computer science and informatics at three largest university cities in Serbia: Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Nis. The created sample is representative enough to illustrate the current situation and trends common for many similar societies. Our first analysis shows that the main motivating factor to select computer science or informatics study program at all faculties is the students' motivation to study just that topic, while at management faculty it is significantly less important. However, we also noticed that significant number of students wished to study something else but chose computer science and informatics due to possibility of finding jobs easier and of earning higher salaries in industry. The most important influential factors to choose a computer science or informatics major come from family members, and close relatives. The perceived brand and reputation of a faculty also plays a significant role. Students being examined prevalently tend to be satisfied with the faculty they have chosen. However, many of them see themselves leaving the country in a near or far future.

A database management system (DBMS) is based on a data model whose concepts are used to express a database schema. Each data model has a specific set of integrity constraint types. There are integrity constraint types, such as key constraint, unique constraint and foreign key constraint that are supported by most DBMSs. Other, more complex constraint types are difficult to express and enforce and are mostly completely disregarded by actual DBMSs. The users have to manage those using custom procedures or triggers. eXtended Markup Language (XML) has become the universal format for representing and exchanging data. Very often XML data are generated from relational databases and exported to a target application or another database. In this context, integrity constraints play the essential role in preserving the original semantics of data. Integrity constraints have been extensively studied in the relational data model. Mechanisms provided by XML schema languages rely on a simple form of constraints that is sufficient neither for expressing semantic constraints commonly found in databases nor for expressing more complex constraints induced by the business rules of the system under study. In this paper we present a classification of constraint types in relational data model, discuss possible declarative mechanisms for their specification and enforcement in the XML data model, and illustrate our approach to the definition and enforcement of complex constraint types in the XML data model on the example of extended tuple constraint type.

Many software engineering activities entail dealing with legacy information systems. When these systems become too costly to maintain, or when new technologies need to be incorporated, they need to be replaced or somehow reengineered. This can be done with significantly reduced amount of effort and cost if the conceptual models of these systems are available. Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a subject system to create representations of the system at a higher level of abstraction. Relational databases are a common source of reverse engineering. Starting from a physical database schema, that is recorded into relational database schema data repository, the conceptual database schema or logical database schema could be extracted. The extraction process may be seen as a chain of model-to-model transformations that trace model elements from a model at the lower level of abstraction to a model at the higher level of abstraction, achieved through meta-modeling. In the paper we present generic and standard database constraint meta-models, focusing on multi-relational database constraints captured in a legacy database. These meta-models are aimed at support of model transformations to create conceptual models, as a useful source for the system reengineering process.

The inverse referential integrity constraints (IRICs) are specialization of non-key-based inclusion dependencies (INDs). Key-based INDs (referential integrity constraints) may be fully enforced by most current relational database management systems (RDBMSs). On the contrary, non-key-based INDs are completely disregarded by actual RDBMSs, obliging the users to manage them via custom procedures and/or triggers. In this paper we present an approach to the automated implementation of IRICs integrated in the SQL Generator tool that we developed as a part of the IIS(star)Studio development environment. In the paper the algorithms for insertion, modification and deletion control are presented, alongside with parameterized patterns for their implementation for DBMSs MS SQL Server 2008 and Oracle 10g. It is also given an example of generated procedures/triggers.

In this paper, we present an approach to development and application of domain-specific modeling (DSM) tools in the model-based management of business processes. The level of Model-to-Text (M2T) transformations in the standard architecture for domain-specific modeling solutions is extended with action reports, which allow synchronization between models, generated code, and target interpreters. The basic idea behind the approach is to use M2T transformation languages to construct submodels, client application components, and operations on target interpreters. In this manner, M2T transformations may be employed to support not only generation of target platform code from domain-specific graphical language (DSGL) models but also straightforward use of models and appropriate DSM tools as client applications. The applicability of action reports is demonstrated by examples from document engineering, and measurement and control systems.

In this paper, we present a platform independent model (PIM) of IIS*Case tool for information system (IS) design. IIS*Case is a model driven software tool that provides generation of executable application prototypes. The concepts are described by Meta Object Facility (MOF) specification, one of the commonly used approaches for describing meta-models. One of the main reasons for having IIS*Case PIM concepts specified through the meta-model, is to provide software documentation in a formal way, as well as a domain analysis purposed at creation a domain specific language to support IS design. Using the PIM meta-model, we can generate test cases that may assist in software tool verification. The meta-model may be also a good base for the process of the concrete syntax generation for some domain specific language.

IIS*Case is a model driven software tool that provides information system modeling and prototype generation. It comprises visual and repository based tools for creating various platform independent model (PIM) specifications that are latter transformed into the other, platform specific specifications, and finally to executable programs. Apart from having PIMs stored as repository definitions, we need to have their equivalent representation in the form of a domain specific language. One of the main reasons for this is to allow for checking the formal correctness of PIMs being created. In the paper, we present such a meta-language, named IIS*CDesLang. IIS*CDesLang is specified by an attribute grammar (AG), created under a visual programming environment for AG specifications, named VisualLISA.

IIS(star)Case is a software tool that provides information system modeling and prototypes generation. At the level of platform independent model specifications, IIS(star)Case provides conceptual modeling of database schemas that include specifications of various database constraints, such as domain, not null, key and unique constraints, as well as various kinds of inclusion dependencies. It also provides conceptual modeling of business applications. In the paper, we present new concepts and a tool embedded into IIS(star)Case, that is aimed at supporting specification of check constraints. We present a domain specific language for specifying check constraints and a tool that enables visually oriented design and parsing check constraints. Also, we present concepts and a tool that is aimed at supporting specification of complex (i.e. "nonstandard") functionalities of business applications. It is provided visually oriented and platform independent specification of business application functions.