Browsers Information in a modeling tool forms part of a relatively complex
structure, as with source code. In contrast with source code, much of the structure is
made explicit in the internal data structures of the modeling tool, rather than having to
be inferred by ?¬?nding the same character sequence in multiple places. This makes it
relatively easy to provide a variety of browsers showing the interrelations of models
and their elements.
Elements can be divided by several hierarchies, dimensions, or link structures,
for example,
. their types
. the projects they are de?¬?ned in
. the graphs they are used in
. the hierarchy of graphs
. the hierarchy of objects used as properties
All of these structures can serve as a useful basis for browsing existing objects to
examine the state of an application or look for reusable elements. A tool should thus
offer browsers supporting hierarchical display along these dimensions, with ?¬?ltering
by project, graph, or type. As these browsers can be built independently of a particular
modeling language, they form a good example of the kind of generic modeling tool
functionality to be expected from a DSM environment.
Documentation Generation In many senses, a domain-speci?¬?c model is its
own documentation, and the modeling tool is the best way to viewthe documentation.
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