Compose [1] is a configuration language that enables the definition of multi-container Docker applications. Using Compose, engineers can define the operation environment of distributed applications at a high level of abstraction. For example, the following Compose specification will start one container for a MySQL database and one for a Wordpress installation. As seen below, the Wordpress container depends on the MySQL container (db) and will not be able to function correctly without it. As Compose lacks support for static analysis, errors (e.g. a typo in the value of depends_on of the Wordpress container) only manifest at runtime where they are challenging to trace and repair. The aim of the project is to investigate the degree to which static analysis of Compose configurations is feasible, and the types of errors that can be detected statically. To achieve this, the student will define a grammar of the Compose language using a framework such as Xtext/EMFText [2] and then use model analysis and validation techniques and tools (e.g. Epsilon's Validation Language [3]) to define constraints that can identify such issues.
version: '2'
services:
db:
image: mysql:5.7
volumes:
- db_data:/var/lib/mysql
restart: always
environment:
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: wordpress
MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
MYSQL_USER: wordpress
MYSQL_PASSWORD: wordpress
wordpress:
depends_on:
- db
image: wordpress:latest
ports:
- "8000:80"
restart: always
environment:
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wordpress
volumes:
db_data:
Suitable candidates for this project should have good knowledge of Java and strong object-oriented design skills.
This project meets the project specifications of the following courses:
BSc