The last few years Obeo has built - mainly for corporate customers - several modeling workbenches dedicated to various domains : from enterprise applications to embedded system going through the insurance portfolios management. For each of those project defining a specific vocabulary leveraging the domain concepts was a key success factor but was not the only one : the ability to easily adapt the associated meta-model and the associated workbench, to support rich user interactions hiding some complexity and leveraging several kind of representations in a coherent environment were important factors too : they allowed us to adapt the tooling to the customer's methodology.

1. Mixing Diagram, Tree, Text, Table and Form editors
to build a kick-ass Modeling Workbench
Mariot Chauvin
Obeo, France
copyright 2011 Obeo

2. About
Obeo
● Software editor and consulting
● Model driven company
● Eclipse strategic member

3. About
UML
"I strongly agree with the complaints about UML
diagrams being cumbersome and hard to deal with"
Raphael Chaves
“Grady Blooch told me he loved the paper and only wished he had
this when they designed UML - if so, things could have been very
different”.
Daniel Moody

4. Universal
Language ?
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5. DSL
Properties
● Explicit
● Targeted
● Expressive

6. Modeling for
Everyone
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7. Textual vs Graphical
● Both are possible
● Depends on context
● Depends on users

8. Modeling workbench
Duties
● Provide rich user interactions
● Hide some complexity
● Display specific model views

9. Modeling
for Generation
● Source code
● Documentation
● Settings file

10. Modeling workbench
Duties
● Handle synchronization
● Maintain traceability links
● Enable managed desynchronization

11. Modeling
with Others
● Several concerns and viewpoints
● Set processes
● Conflicts

12. Modeling workbench
Duties
● Separation of concerns
● Coherence maintenance
● Integration with collaborative tools

13. adaptability
Break

14. flexibility
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15. tooling
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16. Obeo Designer
● Highly extensible
● No set approach
● Focused on tooling

17. Magic
Inside

18. Based on
Eclipse
● Open source and extensible
● Widely used
● Collaboration ready

19. Based on
Eclipse Modeling
● EMF as core
● Dynamic and diverse community

20. Text generation
Acceleo
● MTL Implementation
● Extensive tooling
● Standalone

21. OCL
user

22. OCL Syntax
Enhancements
OCL Acceleo
● [sequence->select(oclIsKindOf(Type)).oclAsType(Type)/] ● [sequence->filter(Type)]
● ["ab".concat("bc").concat("ef")] ● ["ab" + "cd" + "ef"]
● [x.eContainer().eContents()- ● [x.followingSiblings()]
>subSequence(x.eContainer().eContents()->indexOf(self),
x.eContainer().eContents()->size())->excluding(self)/]
● [for (cf:ControlFlow | c.ownedElement->select(a | ● [for (c.ownedElement->filter(ControlFlow)
a.oclIsKindOf(ControlFlow))->sortedBy(e: Element | ->sortedBy(name))]
e.oclAsType(ControlFlow).name))]

23. Featured
Editor
● Syntax highlighting
● Code completion
● Outline

24. Quickfix actions

25. Refactoring facilities
● Dialog with original and refactored previews
● Rapid text replacement

26. Foreign languages fluency
● Java code call
● ATL and QVTO transformations call

27. Integrated debugger
● Step into, Step over, Step return
● Breakpoints and variables

28. Integrated profiler

29. Text and models synchro
Traceability
● Links for each element
● Generation preview
● Part generation

30. Model transformation
ATL
● Declarative approach
● Extensive tooling
● Standalone

31. Integrated
Tooling
module Families2Persons;
create OUT : Persons from IN : Families;
-- helpers declaration {
-- ...
● Editor
-- } helpers declaration
rule Member2Male {
● Debugger
from
to
s : Families!Member (not s.isFemale()) ● Profiler
t : Persons!Male (
Wizards
fullName <- s.firstName + ' ' + s.familyName
) ●
}
rule Member2Female {
from
s : Families!Member (s.isFemale())
to
t : Persons!Female (
fullName <- s.firstName + ' ' + s.familyName
)
}

32. Model comparison
EMF Compare
● Generic
● Extensible
● 3 ways comparison

33. Compare
Editor

34. Graphical modeling
Viewpoint
● Viewpoint driven tool
● Multiple representations
● Interpreted approach

35. Viewpoints specification
● Viewpoints definitions
● Owned representations
● Representation extensions

36. Viewpoints usage
● Viewpoints activation
● Available features update

37. Representations specification
● Mappings
● Graphical style
● Behaviors

38. Representations usage

39. Properties, Wizards and Forms
EEF
● Generative approach
● User friendly widgets
● Enhanced widgets

40. beautiful properties
● Live validation in text widget
● Table and and other user-friendly widgets
● Help for each model element

41. wizards
● Tabs
● Undo management

42. Forms editors

43. Textual representation
Xtext
● Generative approach
● Advanced text editor

44. Demo ?

45. Use examples
● System engineering workbench
● Design, Validation, Analysis
● Code and documentation generation

49. Use examples
● Safety modeling workbench
● Safety analysis (PHA & SHA)
● Documentation generation

53. More ?

54. Sequence diagrams

55. Sequence diagrams

56. UML diagrams

57. UML diagrams

58. UML diagrams

59. Thanks
Questions ??

60. ● Adaptability : http://www.flickr.com/photos/curnen/1041618126/sizes/l/in/photostream/
● Tooling : http://www.flickr.com/photos/batega/1596898776/sizes/l/in/photostream/
● Flexibility : http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsogoodphotography/2187498747/sizes/o/in/photostream/
● OCL User : http://www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/2369412952/sizes/l/in/photostream/
● Card deck : http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4028160820/sizes/o/in/photostream/
● Everyone : http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/613445810/
●
Copyright SXC - http://www.sxc.hu/txt/license.html
● Boxing gloves : http://www.sxc.hu/photo/901672
● Quran : http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1079650
● Jesus : http://www.sxc.hu/photo/907654
● Buddha : http://www.sxc.hu/photo/794720
●

61. Quotes
● Raphael Chaves, http://abstratt.com/blog/2008/06/02/when-uml-meets-slashdot/
● Daniel Woody, http://www.ajilon.com.au/news-publications/264-ajilons-dr-moody-delivers-software-engineering-key-note