The metamodeling
experience can be signi?¬?cantly improved by good support for navigating from an
element in an instance model to the corresponding concept in the modeling language.
On-the-Fly Metamodel Updates As we have mentioned elsewhere, one of the
most important features is the ability to update metamodels on the ?¬‚y and have models
update automatically. The improvements this brings can be likened to moving from
character-mapped displays to WYSIWYG word processing, or from debugging by
inserting trace output statements to live debugging. These kinds of advances are
technically challenging to implement, but the improvements in metamodeler
productivity and user experience are undeniable. Of course, there are two levels:
updates on the ?¬‚y are important while the metamodeler tries things out, both when
building and maintaining the language. When the modeling language is in production,
the metamodeler will rarely be editing the language on the ?¬‚y, but rather working offline
from the other modelers, and only releasing a complete and tested set of changes
as an update to the modelers. The models must then update to match the new
metamodel, but that is a slightly different issue from the instant feedback to the
metamodeler of on-the-?¬‚y changes.
Automatic Icons, Palette, Menus, and Dialogs In early versions of tools, the
metamodeler is often required to specify by hand the icons, type palette, and
sometimes even menus for the resulting modeling tool.
Pages:
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737