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Meet the Modelio community at "Solution Linux/Open Source 2013" in Paris

Written by pan Tuesday, 14 May 2013 13:02

The Modelio open source edition and its set of extensions will be demonstrated at Solution Linux / Open Source 2013 (May 28th, 29th).

Discover the strength of the Modelio open source distribution:

- Unique OSS UML & BPMN editor
- Great set of on the shelf extensions in the oss distribution (Java code generation, SysML, TOGAF, ...)
- Unique features such as the graphical traceability editor and explorer
- Partners and extensions of Modelio

Request your free access pass now: http://www.solutionslinux.fr/preinscription_154_204_p.html?lg=fr and meet us at booth E14!

Modelio 2.2.1 has been released

Written by Antonio Pedro Friday, 05 October 2012 13:50

The Modelio development team is pleased to announce the release of Modelio 2.2.1.

Download Modelio 2.2.1

Modelio 2.2.1 provides new features, improvements and bug fixes.
Please note that opening your existing models with this release will upgrade your projects. Upgrading your projects consists in updating your model and diagrams to the new metamodel provided with Modelio 2.2.1.

New features/Evolutions

• The context of a diagram is now its owner element.
• New 'Select in Model explorer' command in the diagram explorer.
• New 'Print Setup' options page for printing diagrams .
• ...

Improvements and bug fixes

• Fix of diagram refresh problem.
• Improvement of memory management.
• Fixes in diagram migration.
• Fixes and improvements in sequence diagrams.
• Fixes and improvements in state diagrams.
• Fixes and improvements in the XMI Import/Export.
• ...

For a more detailed list of new features, improvements and bug fixes, please consult the Modelio 2.2.1 release notes.

Need help using Modelio?

If you are just starting to use Modelio, take a look at the Quick Start Guide.
Check the Modelio user manuals to go further with Modelio. These manuals contain information about the modeler, its features, its interface, the metamodel, available tools and also the open source Java Designer module.

Get help from the video tutorials available on the Modelio youtube community channel.

The forum also provides valuable information on how to use the Modelio UML/BPMN modeling tool, how to work with available modules or how to develop your own modules, using the Jython scripting language to create some interesting functions.

Need more functionalities?

Modelio provides a large range of modules enabling you to adapt Modelio to your own needs (code generation, document generation or modeling extensions), and Jython scripts for small tasks, to get quick information from the model, and so on.

Download modules and scripts from the Modelio Store.

A Model is not a tree !

Written by Philippe Desfray Tuesday, 31 January 2012 18:09

A Model is not a tree !

So why do modeling tools always provide a hierarchical model explorer in order to navigate within the model? Organizing a model as a tree appears often as an arbitrary choice : there are many ways of organizing models. Models could for example be organized by types of elements (e.g. Use Cases, Class Diagrams, …), or by logical grouping (e.g. Administration, Billing, … or GUI, Server, client, storage, … ) in many ways. The reader of a model may not share the vision of the original author, who decided a specific organization, and may find it difficult to navigate in.

Traceability links are an interesting case. When you define “trace” dependencies, you will soon be lost, finding it hard to know and remember which trace was defined or not. Reversing generated code is another case : you may need to discover a model, and want to navigate in the generalization tree to understand the classification, or to navigate through the associations, to understand how data can be accessed from some point.

This is why Modelio 2.1 brought the “link editor” facility. Consider it like a browser, that navigates in a diagrammatic form through the type of links you want (generalization, association, trace, access, ..). This new facility provides you a new way to see and handle your model : much more efficient than a classical model explorer/diagram combination. It is also used to create links : no need to open explorers to create a generalization, association, trace, …

After all, models are complex graphs : we need graph navigation and handling tools to master them. We are still exploring how useful this is. Feedbacks and use cases in the Modelio forum for example are warmly welcomed.

Figure below : Example of what a TOGAF model presents in the link editor, here centerd on the "Customer" Actor.

What is the real ROI of code generation?

Written by Philippe Desfray Tuesday, 10 January 2012 15:45

This question is quite hard to answer. Developers are often difficult to convince.

Despite some impressive results, the volume of code generated from a piece of model may not be indicative of the ROI : once a project is completed, how much value did you gain from a model-driven approach?

This question raises other questions. How does code generation scale up? How does it match any project specificities? How is it working in a continuously changing project?

The "Improve your Java development efficiency with Modelio and UML" white paper provides answers to this question. One of them is that productivity and ROI must be measured at the project scale (analysis, design, tests, ...) including maintenance. This may raise interest for modeling approaches, provided that model and code are maintained in synch during the project's lifecycle, using appropriate tool functionalities.

One other answer closely addresses developer concerns. Developers already get code generation from their favorite IDE such as Eclipse, but since the IDEs do not know the original model, they usually provide first shot generation obtained from code introspection, but cannot update the generated code. They are frequently in the unpleasant situation of having part of the generated code that is not up to date with regard to the manually captured code. Code generation that guarantees global consistency is a real advantage.

Read more in the "Improve your Java development with Modelio and UML" white paper.

Release of Modelio 2.0.2

Written by Antonio Pedro Thursday, 08 December 2011 15:04

The Modelio community is pleased to announce the release of Modelio 2.0.2. Some fixes and improvements in the UML/BPMN Modeler as well as in the SysML Architect and Pattern Designer open source modules.

Download Modelio 2.0.2
Download latest SysML Architect module release
Download latest Pattern Designer module release