一个可配置的可视化建模工具

可视化建模语言是采用图形方式对系统／软件进行描述的语言，可视化建模工具为其提供了开发环境。不同的建模工具存在的共性，使得开发一种通用的可配置的可视化建模工具成为可能。基于理论研究和工具开发的实践经验，提出定义了一套支持静态语义的可视化建模语言描述方法，并且设计实现了一个从语义、语法、图形到编辑器界面可配置的可视化建模工具。     

vCGG:一种基于虚结点的空间图文法形式框架

作为一种二维的形式化方法,图文法为可视化语言提供了直观而规范的描述手段.然而,大多数图文法形式框架在空间语义处理能力方面有所不足,影响了图文法的表达能力及其实际应用范围.针对现存的问题,构建了一种新型空间图文法形式框架vCGG （virtual-node based coordinate graph grammar）.区别于其他空间图文法,vCGG在产生式中通过定义虚结点的概念描述产生式与主图之间的语法结构与空间语义关系,在保留抽象能力的同时,提高了其空间语义配置性能.通过与几种典型空间图文法框架比较,vCGG形式框架在直观性、规范性、表达能力以及分析效率方面均有着较好的表现.     

GIS在图形化工作流建模中的应用研究

对基于Petri网的建模对象进行分析,并提出将具有强大的图形建模、可视化操作和空间数据分析功能的GIS技术应用到工作流建模之中,建立一个基于空间对象的工作流建模与模型检验的可视化建模系统,为解决传统建模软件开发中的关键问题提出了一种新的解决方案.     

基于Python的三维建模可视化系统研究

Python是不同语言模块的连接语言,而wxPython则是Python语言中的GUI图形库,其能够完成计算各个语言模块的调用与联结.主要使用免费软件系统、OpenGL开放图形库两种图形语言系统构建了基于四边数据结构的三维可视化建模系统.四边数据结构属于一种三角网格拓扑结构,其结构的连接性更加紧密,在数据查找和算法操作方面的效率也较高.主要对基于Python的三维建模可视化系统进行了研究,通过空间离散投影的德洛内三角网络,来完成建模可视化系统的边、角和顶点的插入与切割活动.     

可视化语言文法形式化描述综述

可视化是人机交互的主要形式,可视化语言是计算机科学中一个重要研究领域,文法为可视化语言提供了一种有价值的形式化描述方法。本文基于可视化语言的特征,介绍了可视化语言文法形式化描述体系的基本理论,分析了几种典型形式模型,并探讨了当前的主要研究内容和面临的挑战。     

一种图文法制导的软件体系结构开发环境Artemis-GADE

图形化、集成化的软件体系结构开发环境对于推动软件体系结构相关技术的研究和应用具有重要的意义.提出了一种基于图文法的可视化编辑环境生成机制.对于给定的软件体系结构风格的图文法描述,可以自动生成相应的图文法制导的体系结构编辑工具.与常见的基于Meta-Model的开发环境相比,这种图文法制导的开发方式更多地利用了相应软件体系结构风格的内在语义,从而提高了环境的易用性和可靠性.设计并实现了一个原型系统Artemis-GADE(graph grammar-directed architecture development environment),初步验证了上述途径的可行性.     

基于图文法制导的ER 图自动绘制技术

逻辑模型可视化对于软件开发和技术研究具有重要的意义．提出了一种基于图文法制导ER图自动绘制技术,并对图文法进行扩展命名为ER图文法,它克服了在原有建模工具中绘制ER图图幅数量有限和不易更改的缺点,并从语义上对实体关系及ER图绘制规则进行描述,提出ER图自动布局和布线算法,实现ER图的自动绘制．     

上下文相关图文法分析及其应用初探

图文法是一种对可视化语言进行形式化定义的元语言，具有表达自然、能力强大的特点.随着使用可视化语言的最终用户编程技术的广泛应用，图文法分析尤其是上下文相关图文法分析在工程应用中的重要性日益突出.国内外相关文献或着重于纯理论探讨，或局限于特定语法类的特定应用，不利于工程应用人员参考.本文选取简洁明了的符号体系，介绍上下文相关图文法分析的一般性过程，并将其中规则选取关键步骤描述为CSP问题，利用已有的针对CSP问题的优化方法来优化算法，介绍了现有的优化方法并给出实现算法;同时，结合自身实践，讨论其在一个面向体系结构的Web服务集成系统中的应用.     

图文法EGG在设计模式中的应用

对图变换和可视化语言的研究激发并促进了图文法的研究和发展。作为一维字符文法的扩展,图文法可以形式化描述二维空间中的对象,如图像、图形和表格等,为它们的定义、生成、变换及分析提供理论和技术上的支持。设计模式是可复用面向对象软件的基础,通常以二维图的形式来表示。为了与用户多样化的需求相适应,设计模式经常需要在不改变系统基本结构的情况下进行演化。本文讨论了图文法EGG及其形式化方法在设计模式的演化中的应用,聚焦在图变换和图解析两方面。前者用EGG格式的产生式作为图重写式来指导图的每一次变换,以确保相应设计模式演化每一步的正确性;后者用EGG文法机制来对图进行归约,以检查随意演化后的设计模式是否合法。     

一种Java语言图形编程工具的设计与实现

提出一种用于Java语言的图形编程工具的设计方法.它基于元建模机制设计图形编程语言,采用模型-视图-控制器(MVC)构架模式实现图形编辑器,并设计代码转换器完成从图形代码到对应文本代码的等价转换.通过在机器人编程游戏中的实际使用,证明其满足实际需要,大大提高图形编程语言的设计效率,增强了图形编辑器的可维护性与可复用性.这种设计方法也可以用来设计其他语言的图形编程工具.     

Automatic generation of visual programming environments

We have developed the visual language compiler-compiler (VLCC) system to automatically generate visual programming environments. VLCC is a grammar based system that can support implementation of any visual language by assisting the language designer in defining the language's graphical objects, syntax, and semantics. The final result of the generation process includes an integrated environment with a visual editor and a compiler for the defined visual language. In VLCC, graphical tools define visual languages to create both graphical objects and composition rules. Visual editors enable language designers to directly and visually manipulate the syntax of these languages. To capture the widest range of visual languages, the VLCC system can be configured for a specific language class. Different language classes can be characterized depending on their graphical objects' structure and on the way they can be composed. Also, box and arrow diagrams are defined for primitive objects with attaching points and for composition rules to join boxes and arrows at those attaching points. After choosing the visual language type to create, the designer can concentrate on language definition details. VLCC uses the positional grammar model as its underlying grammar formalism     

Computing with graphs and graph transformations

Many software applications require the construction and manipulation of graphs. In standard programming languages, this is accomplished using low‐level mechanisms such as pointer manipulation or array indexing. In contrast, graph productions are a convenient high‐level visual notation for coding graph modifications. A graph production replaces one subgraph by another subgraph. Graph productions can define a graph grammar and graph language, or can directly transform an input graph into an output graph. Graph transformation has been applied in many areas, including the definition of visual languages and their tools, the construction of software development environments, the definition of constraint programming algorithms, the modeling of distributed systems, and the construction of neural networks. One application is presented in detail: the interpretation of mathematical notation in scanned document images. The graph models the set of mathematical symbols, and their spatial and logical relationships. This graph is transformed by productions written in the PROGRES language. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于图文法的动态软件体系结构支撑环境

使用类型化的属性图及其图文法来直观而形式地刻画软件体系结构和体系结构风格,用图转换来刻画动态体系结构的重配置行为.基于这种刻画,构建了一个动态软件体系结构支撑环境.该环境一方面,通过一个基于图文法的编辑器来支持体系结构图模型的可视化构造和操纵;另一方面,基于内置运行时体系结构技术实现了体系结构图模型在具体系统中的物理实施,并使得图模型上的图转换操作可以自动映射到实际系统的动态重配置上.再加上一系列的辅助设施,形成了一个较为完整的基于图文法的动态软件体系结构支撑环境.     

Parsing nonlinear languages

The diagrammatic approach to user interfaces for computer-aided software development toolkits, visual query systems, and visual programming environments, is based on the use of diagrams and charts traditionally drawn on paper. In particular, the VLG system (Visual Language Generator) has been proposed to generate icon-oriented visual languages customized for given applications. The syntactical model underlying the interpretation of a visual language in VLG has been designed to describe icon-oriented visual languages. In order to enable the VLG system to apply to any kind of graphical languages, like diagrammatic ones, it is necessary to find a more general syntactical model able to support both their generation and interpretation. This paper addresses the comprehension of the features that a grammatical formalism for nonlinear languages must have to match any requirement for an efficient parsing. To this aim, relation grammars support an easy implementation of a general parsing algorithm for multidimensional languages, parametric with respect to the rewriting rules of the grammar. We compare the expressive power of relation grammars to grammatical formalisms for graph grammars     

Defining the abstract syntax of visual languages with advanced graph grammars—A case study based on behavior trees

Diagrammatic visual languages can increase the ability of engineers to model and understand complex systems. However, to effectively use visual models, the syntax and semantics of these languages should be defined precisely. Since most diagrammatic visual models that are currently used to specify systems can be described as (directed) typed graphs, graph grammars have been identified as a suitable formalism to describe the abstract syntax of visual modeling languages. In this article, we investigate how advanced graph-transformation techniques, such as conditional, structure-generic and type-generic graph-transformation rules, can help to improve and simplify the specification of the abstract syntax of a visual modeling language. To demonstrate the practicability of an approach that unifies these advanced graph-transformation techniques, we define the abstract syntax of behavior trees (BTs), a graphical specification language for functional requirements. Additionally, we provide a translational semantics of BTs by formalizing a translation scheme to the input language of the SAL model checking tool for each of the graph-transformation rules.     

Specifying behavioral semantics of UML diagrams through graph transformations

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been widely accepted as a standard for modeling software systems from various perspectives. The intuitive notations of UML diagrams greatly improve the communication among developers. However, the lack of a formal semantics makes it difficult to automate analysis and verification. This paper offers a graphical yet formal approach to specifying the behavioral semantics of statechart diagrams using graph transformation techniques. It supports many advanced features of statecharts, such as composite states, firing priority, history, junction, and choice. In our approach, a graph grammar is derived automatically from a state machine to summarize the hierarchy of states. Based on the graph grammar, the execution of a set of non-conflict state transitions is interpreted by a sequence of graph transformations. This facilitates verifying a design model against system requirements. To demonstrate our approach, we present a case study on a toll-gate system.     

A visual environment for visual languages

The visual environment GENGED supports the visual definition of visual languages (VLs). Each VL is defined by an alphabet and a grammar. From a specific VL-definition, a VL-specification is generated which is the input of a graphical editor allowing for syntax-directed editing of diagrams over the specified VL. GENGED as well as each VL is based on the well-defined concepts of algebraic graph transformation and graphical constraint solving. The underlying formalism is hidden from the user, but it is essential for a formal presentation and manipulation of graphical structures. In this contribution, the GENGED concepts and environment are briefly proposed and illustrated by the definition of a simple kind of the well-known statechart language.     

Modeling real-time communication systems: Practices and experiences in Motorola

Visual modeling languages and techniques have been increasingly adopted for software specification, design, development, and testing. With the major improvements of UML 2.0 and tools support, visual modeling technologies have significant potential for simplifying design, facilitating collaborations, and reducing development cost. In this paper, we describe our practices and experiences of applying visual modeling techniques to the design and development of real-time wireless communication systems within Motorola. A model-driven engineering approach of integrating visual modeling with development and validation is described. Results, issues, and our viewpoints are also discussed.