General-purpose modeling (GPM) is the systematic use of a general-purpose modeling language

Modeling language

A modeling language is any artificial language that can be used to express information or knowledge or systems in a structure that is defined by a consistent set of rules...

 to represent the various facets of an object

Object (philosophy)

An object in philosophy is a technical term often used in contrast to the term subject. Consciousness is a state of cognition that includes the subject, which can never be doubted as only it can be the one who doubts, and some object or objects that may or may not have real existence without...

 or a system

System

System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....

. Examples of GPM languages are:

• The Unified Modeling Language
  Unified Modeling Language
  Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
  
   (UML), an industry standard for modeling software-intensive systems
• EXPRESS (ISO 10303-11
  ISO 10303-11
  EXPRESS is a standard data modeling language for product data. EXPRESS is formalized in the ISO Standard for the Exchange of Product model STEP , and standardized as ISO 10303-11.- Overview :...
  
  ), an international standard for the specification of data models
• IDEF
  IDEF
  IDEF, an abbreviation of Integration Definition, refers to a family of modeling languages in the field of systems and software engineering. They cover a wide range of uses, from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These "definition...
  
  , a group of languages from the 1970s that aimed to be neutral, generic and reusable
• Gellish
  Gellish
  Gellish is a controlled natural language, also called a formal language, in which information and knowledge can be expressed in such a way that it is computer-interpretable, as well as system-independent. Gellish is a structured subset of natural language that is suitable for information modelling...
  
  , an industry standard natural language oriented modeling language for storage and exchange of data and knowledge, published in 2005
• Lisp, a functional programming language designed for symbol processing, later extended with imperative abilities
• XML
  XML
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
  
  , a data modeling
  Data modeling
  Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying formal data modeling techniques.- Overview :...
  
   language now beginning to be used to model code (MetaL, Microsoft .Nethttp://www.microsoft.com/traincert/syllabi/2663Afinal.asp)

Contrast GPM languages with dedicated domain-specific modeling

Domain-Specific Modeling

Domain-specific modeling is a software engineering methodology for designing and developing systems, such as computer software. It involves systematic use of a domain-specific language to represent the various facets of a system...

 (DSM) languages, which like domain-specific languages (DSLs), are maturing and becoming a viable alternative to GPM languages.

See also

• Domain-specific modeling
  Domain-Specific Modeling
  Domain-specific modeling is a software engineering methodology for designing and developing systems, such as computer software. It involves systematic use of a domain-specific language to represent the various facets of a system...
  
   (DSM)
• Model-driven engineering
  Model-driven engineering
  Model-driven engineering is a software development methodology which focuses on creating and exploiting domain models , rather than on the computing concepts...
  
   (MDE)
• Unified Modeling Language
  Unified Modeling Language
  Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
  
   (UML)
• ISO 10303-11
  ISO 10303-11
  EXPRESS is a standard data modeling language for product data. EXPRESS is formalized in the ISO Standard for the Exchange of Product model STEP , and standardized as ISO 10303-11.- Overview :...
  
   EXPRESS
• IDEF
  IDEF
  IDEF, an abbreviation of Integration Definition, refers to a family of modeling languages in the field of systems and software engineering. They cover a wide range of uses, from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These "definition...
  
  
• LISP
  Lisp
  A lisp is a speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism. Stereotypically, people with a lisp are unable to pronounce sibilants , and replace them with interdentals , though there are actually several kinds of lisp...
  
  
• Southbeach Notation
• XML
  XML
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....