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Multiple PSMs from One PIM

publish date: 2026/06/08 21:08:34.176585 UTC

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The diagram below shows how a single Platform Independent Model (PIM) can be translated into multiple Platform Specific Models (PSMs) for different target platforms.

What is the key benefit demonstrated by this diagram — generating both a Java program and a C# program from a single PIM?

It shows that translators can fix bugs in the original PIM automatically

If a system is intended to run on multiple platforms, you only need to maintain a single PIM, and the PSMs for each platform are automatically generated — making platform migration much easier

It shows that Java and C# programs are always identical in functionality

It proves that model-driven development is always faster than traditional coding

Correct Answer

If a system is intended to run on multiple platforms, you only need to maintain a single PIM, and the PSMs for each platform are automatically generated — making platform migration much easier

Explanation

The key benefit is that if a system is intended to run on different platforms (e.g., J2EE and .NET), you only have to maintain a single PIM. The PSMs for each platform are automatically generated from it. Furthermore, if the system needs to be adapted to a new platform technology, you write a new translator for that platform and all existing PIMs can then be rapidly re-hosted on the new platform.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Model-Driven Architecture