Bidirectionalization For The Common People

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative approach to applying bidirectional transformations (BX) in practice. To introduce BX to a wider audience of technologists, engineers, and researchers, we have chosen to use C# to develop Bifrons - a library of BX lenses that replaces domain-specific programming languages (DSL) in practical use. The proposed approach simplifies the implementation effort for two-way transformations by using simple symmetric lenses as the initial design pattern. It ensures correctness within reason by providing a simple lens-testing framework. We demonstrate the usability of BX lenses in a realistic scenario by using Bifrons to perform a case study experiment synchronizing data from two structurally and technologically heterogeneous databases.