SiriusCon2016 - Integrating Textual and Graphical Editing in the POOSL IDE

POOSL IDE (http://poosl.esi.nl/)

Koen Staal and Arjan Mooij

SiriusCon, 15th November 2016

Integrating Textual and Graphical Editing

http://www.crystal-artemis.eu/

http://www.artemis-ia.eu/

http://www.commit-nl.nl/

15th November 2016 Integrating Textual and Graphical Editing © 2016 Embedded Systems Innovation by TNO


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POOSL background

• Parallel Object Oriented Specification Language (POOSL) - Graphical and textual syntax

- Expressive, industrially-proven modelling language with formal semantics

- Describe structure and concurrent, real-time and stochastic behavior

• Eindhoven University of Technology - Original development of the language

- (Smalltalk based POOSL editor and simulator)

- C++ based POOSL simulator

• Embedded Systems Innovation by TNO - Successful applications in the high-tech industry

- Eclipse based POOSL IDE (using the C++ based simulator)

http://www.google.nl/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwji08mkrvjPAhVE7hoKHUsxCscQjRwIBw&url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~dajsuren/teaching.html&psig=AFQjCNE_a8ij49sAR8z0OGwOJdVpqu5f_w&ust=1477567566989696



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POOSL: Architecture

• Program-like text

• UML-like graphical diagrams - Class diagram

- Composite structure diagram



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POOSL: Behavior

• Program-like text

• UML-like graphical diagrams - Class diagram

- Composite structure diagram

Validation for early fault detection: • Errors:

• Cyclic relations (inheritance, containment) • …

• Warnings: • Static type-checking (partial) • Message mismatch per channel • …



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Application: Architecture/requirements validation

(physical views) (functional views)



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Application: Performance analysis of systems

TRACE (for Gantt charts)

(http://trace.esi.nl/)



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Implementation of POOSL IDE



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Implementation of POOSL IDE

• Used Eclipse technologies: - EMF internal model and indexer

- Xtext textual editors and validators

- Sirius graphical editors and viewers

- Launch Framework interactive debugger

• Integration combines the strengths of the different syntaxes: - Textual syntax: leading artifacts, editing of all model details

- Graphical syntax: optional views, overview and model creation

• Next topics: - Tension between textual, graphical and EMF

- Integration of editing and dynamic overlays



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Drawing implicit elements



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Note: more than one Instance of the same InstantiableClass



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Note: more than one Instance of the same InstantiableClass



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Manage representations



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Sirius Content Management

• Inside Project Explorer

Hide validation icons from Xtext validation

Currently we disable “Sirius Content Management” - But we would like the possibility to manage representations…

Manage representations Expose EMF internals to textual users



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Navigation

• Opening a model: - Double-click on the textual file custom window to choose editor

• Navigate between different representation of elements (custom)

• Navigate via references (<F3>, <CTRL>-<click>, <double-click>)



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Problems with references



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• Deleting a referred element: - Textual: validation will indicate broken references

- Graphical: all references must explicitly be removed

• Get name of referred element without accessing the element: E.g., for displaying types of variables and parameters in a class diagram

Aim for scalability based on modular files, indexer, and on-demand loading

- Textual: use parse tree (NodeModel)

- Graphical: missing information (textual parse tree is not reliable)



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• Encoding of a reference to a target element: - Name of the target element

• Textual view on the model [stored on disk] [visible by user]

• Parse tree (Xtext node model)

- URI of the target element

• Model (Ecore)

• Sirius representations.aird [stored on disk]

- Arrow to a graphical view of the element

• Graphical view on the model [visible by user]

We have eliminated all references - Name approach feels natural, but is incompatible with URI / Arrow

- Custom implementation of navigate, rename, etc.



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More problems with references

• Rename/reorder elements

• Rename/move/copy files/directories

- Textual: mostly works out of the box

- Graphical: diagrams loose track of the related model elements

• Target element URI in EMF based on: - #Index (default): insensitive to rename, sensitive to reorder

- #Name (custom): sensitive to rename, insensitive to reorder

• Suggestions are very welcome!



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Graphical diagrams and the Launch Framework



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Not based on Sirius Based on Sirius

Diagrams are modified during (high-speed) execution



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• Communication Diagram = Static structure + Dynamic overlay

• Static structure: Copied from a Composite Structure Diagram - Linked to the same text file

- Locked (not modifiable) during execution

- Closed in case of modifications in the underlying model

• Dynamic overlay: Updated during execution - Slows down the simulation

- GUI refresh rate is low

• But still useful for the user

- Add textual elements

• Message content and counters

- Connections:

• Highlighting and arrowheads



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Summary

• Integrating textual and graphical editing - Basic integration works out-of-the-box

- Tension between textual, graphical and EMF

• Drawing implicit elements

• Manage representations

• Problems with references

- Integration of editing and dynamic overlays

Software

SiriusCon2016 - Integrating Textual and Graphical Editing in the POOSL IDE