MetaCase Newsletter 2015/3

October 2015

Define and start using your first DSM solution with the Starter Kit

When you raise the level of abstraction by creating your own domain-specific modeling language and generators, productivity and quality improve significantly: industry experiences report 5-10x improvements. But how to get started?

The Starter Kit provides expert services and MetaEdit+ licenses for creating and using your modeling languages. It allows your team to move quickly into domain-specific modeling and pilot the approach within a period of 3 months. Our mature tools and our consultants' unparalleled experience ensure you get the answers you need, avoiding wasted effort. Independent tests show you can define your languages with MetaEdit+ 10-50x faster than with competing tools.

During 2 days on site our consultant and you will together define the first version of your modeling language and generators. You will be the sole owner of the languages and generators developed and can extend them further using your MetaEdit+ Workbench licenses. The resulting language can then be used by your team for modeling and generating the required output, like code, configuration, tests, data for simulators, analysis, etc.

Bonus: get a copy of the Wiley book on Domain-Specific Modeling.

In this issue:

  • Define and start using your first DSM solution with the Starter Kit
  • Code generation and beyond: model-debugging and run-time synchronization
  • Scaling up: over 1 billion model elements
  • From the forums: Reusing relationships
  • 20th November: Webinar on creating Domain-Specific Modeling languages with MetaEdit+
  • Upcoming events

Code generation and beyond

Domain-Specific Models are widely applied as an input for code generators. In a recent report (Procedia Computer Science) we show how use of models can be extended to model debugging and synchronization between the state of a model and the state of a program when executed in a target runtime system. This enables quick iterative feedback from the running code back to models, supports verification of the control logic in the model, and helps to optimize the use of hardware resources.

The article is available at ScienceDirect.

Scaling up: over 1 billion model elements

You can significantly decrease the time and effort needed to specify applications and features, by using domain-specific languages that raise the level of abstraction above code. Still, specification of a large system requires large models too. MetaEdit+ is built for scalability in terms of model size. The repository can store billions of design objects and it allows collaborative modeling even within the same diagram, matrix or table.

For details of the repository and collaborative modeling support see MetaEdit+ multi-user version.

From the Forums: Reusing relationships

When you have a question, the MetaEdit+ Web Forums have have proven to be a great way to get accurate answers quickly. At the same time, your question helps others for the future: some threads have been read over 20 000 times. 

This issue's highlighted topic comes from Olivier who asks about reusing relationship instances.

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Q: I have a metamodel with relationships attached to a graph. I can reuse objects from one graph to another, but the relationships are grey and I could not find the way to reuse them from one diagram to another. Is there a way to do that?
________ 

A: You can reuse a relationship by referring to it from an object (or indeed from anything with properties). Add a new property to the object's type, setting its Datatype to Relationship... and choosing the relationship type. In the property dialog for an instance of that object type, you can then choose Attach Existing Relationship from the popup menu.

***

See other topics from the MetaEdit+ Web Forums here.

20th November: Webinar on Domain-Specific Modeling with MetaEdit+

This 30-minute webinar will demonstrate how MetaEdit+ allows you to incrementally define your own modeling tool — without having to write a single line of code. As soon as you define a modeling language, or even a partial prototype, you and your team can start to use it in MetaEdit+. You will learn:

  • How to define domain-specific languages with MetaEdit++
  • How to define rich, dynamically changing notations 
  • How MetaEdit+ updates models on the fly as the modeling language changes
  • How to test and debug the modeling language and generator 

For the webinar you can use your computer's microphone and speakers — a headset is recommended. The schedule for the webinars and instructions are available on the webinar page.

Alongside the webinars, we're also offering company-specific webmeetings for DSM. These allow us to focus on your particular vertical, e.g. automotive, product line, UI, telecom or service specification. We can show you and your team DSM languages and cases from your vertical as well as discussing your company-specific requirements — all of course with no obligation. Book your own free one-to-one webmeeting now!

Upcoming events — see you there!

Meet our experts and see a demonstration of Domain-Specific Modeling with MetaEdit+ at any of the following events:

  • Ericsson Modeling Conference, Kista, Sweden, 9-10 November 2015
  • Embedded Technology 2015, Yokohama, Japan, 18-20 November 2015
  • MetaEdit+ Webinar, 20 November 2015