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2 Tutorial

In this chapter we go through a step-by-step tutorial of defining a new method specification in MetaEdit+. The tutorial example shows how one can extend MetaEdit+’s available methods and reuse existing method specifications to develop new ones. You need the Method Workbench version of MetaEdit+ to carry out the steps in the tutorial fully. The tools are visible in other versions of MetaEdit+, but changes can only be made in the Symbol Editor and Dialog Editor.

In the example we extend the ordinary State Diagram technique. Normally states in a State Diagram do not contain information about the object that they are characterising, and therefore it is difficult to find states of a particular object. To overcome this limitation, state diagrams are often drawn only for one object at a time. Another possibility is to improve the State Diagram technique by extending the State type with information about the class that the state is characterising.

To complete this chapter, you should be familiar with the basic tools of MetaEdit+ and the GOPRR data model.

To start the tutorial, you should have the UML project open and selected as the default. You can do this at start-up time, or later through the browsers (see the User’s Guide for logging in and opening projects).

If you do not want the definition of the new method to become part of your method base, please commit any current transaction before proceeding and abandon changes after the tutorial!

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