Overview

Working with models

Actifsource is a comprehensive design and code generator tool, covering all aspects of domain-driven software development from domain analysis through to the design models, code generating, testing, refactoring and maintenance.

Actifsource allows you to define your domain-specific software specification.

This software specification is also called domain model, or specific model. The domain model shall be independent from any used technology (i.e. programming language, operating system, etc.).

As the domain model is domain-specific by definition, we need to specify the structure for every domain. This task is done in the so called meta-model.

The meta-model is built upon concepts of the Actifsource core model (aka Meta Meta-Model). Note that the core model is self-describing, i.e., it is the meta-model of itself.

To find an adequate meta-model, you need to analyze your business domain. If you like to create a Service Oriented Architecture (SAO), your meta-model might will contain services. If you like to model state machines, your meta-model will define states, event and transitions.

Note that the Meta-Model is an abstraction of your business domain, and defines the business classes and their relationships.

As we do not know your meta-model in advance, we cannot generate any suitable code for you. This means, that you have to define your own code templates according to the meta-model. Defining code templates is as easy as writing normal code.

Since everything depends on the meta-model you have to start by analyzing your business domain. Once the meta-model is defined, you are able to enter you domain specific software specification accordingly. Also template code is written along the meta-model. From this three models (meta-model, domain model, code template) your code is generated by the Actifsource code generator.

Resource

Every model consists of so called resources. A resource is like an object and the most abstract entity from the Actifsource core model. In fact, every model element is a resource.

Every resource is identified by a globally unique identifier (GUID) which is automatically assigned, if you create a new resource. Therefore changing resource names never affects any relation between resources.

Getting started

To get started with Actifsource, we suggest our tutorials on the Actifsource web site. Please visit www.actifsource.com/tutorials.

Actifsource Environment

Actifsource Eclipse Plugin

Actifsource is shipped as Eclipse Plugin. Please make sure to install Eclipse first. Choose Help/Install new Software… to install Actifsource from one of the following Eclipse Update Sites:

• www.actifsource.com/updates (Community Edition)
• www.actifsource.com/updates-enterprise (Enterprise Edition: password protected)

If you are not familiar with the Eclipse environment, please consult the Installing Actifsource.

Memory Usage

The Actifsource technology allows you to track any keystroke in real-time. As a result of this feature the memory consumption might be quite high for larger models. Make sure to adopt the memory given to Eclipse if necessary in the eclipse.ini file in the Eclipse directory. We suggest at least 4 GB of ram.

To observe the memory while working with Actifsource enable Window/Preferences/General/Show heap status.

Make sure to enable Show Max Heap to track the maximum memory usage by using the context menu on the heap status display.

Perspectives

Since Eclipse is a general software development tool, you must be able to select different perspectives. Make sure that the Actifsource Perspective is selected when working with Actifsource.

Actifsource Preferences

The preferences dialog (Window/Preferences/Actifsource) provides the following configuration options.

Statistics

Selecting the Actifsource menu shows a statistic of the resources.

• Reources The number of resources in the project.
• RootResources The number of root resources in the project. A root resource is a non-aggregated resource.
• Statements The number of statements in the project. The statement declares three resources as follows: Subject-Predicate-Object.

Generator

• Always clear generator console before generate Actifsource cleans the console output before generating code. This makes it easier to scroll to the top of the output to find error messages.

Style Configuration

The style configuration let you define your own colors.

• Profile Shows all built-in and user-defined profiles.
• Edit Edit user-defined profiles. Note that you cannot edit built-in profiles.
• Copy Copy built-in or user-defined profiles. Use copy on a built-in profile to create a user-defined profile.
• Remove Removes user-defined profiles. Note that you cannot remove built-in profiles.

Validator

• Revalidation Delay (ms) Actifsource validates every keystroke. The validation might lead to a high CPU load for large models. For this reason you can configure the delay between validations.

Project Wizard

The project wizard allows you to create a new Actifsource project from scratch. Select File/new/Actifsource Project.

Project Name and Location

• Project name This is the name of the new project. We suggest that the project name is given in the eclipse-like manner: com.company.project.subproject. Note that the dotted name automatically leads to a corresponding package structure.
• Location This is the location of the project. The default location is in the workspace.
• Working Set You might add the project to an existing working set. A working set is a dedicated view to the projects of the workspace.

Resource Paths

All Actifsource resources are saved in Resource Files with the ending .asr in an xml format. The resource path defines where to find the model resources.

• Add Resource Path Adds a new resource path to the project.
• Edit… Edits an existing resource path.
• Remove Removes an existing resource path.
• Generate javamodel Actifsource builds internal Java classes to handle your model. Do not switch off this option unless you know exactly what you do.

Target Folder

Generated code is written to target folders. You might specify any existing or new folder in your project as a target folder.

• Add Target Folder… Adds a new target folder to your project.

• Add Build Config Adds a new build configuration to your target folder.
  A build configuration is kind of a make file that tells actifsource which templates to build. If no build configuration is defined, Actifsource automatically generates code for all templates from the current project, combined with all matching resources from the current project (see Build Config, see Template Editor).

• Add Package… Adds a new package to your build configuration. Code is only generated for matching resources found in the specified packages.

  • com.actifsource.statemachine.specific.* (all resources in the package)
  • com.actifsource.statemachine.specific.** (all resources in the package and its subpackages)

  If no package is defined, Actifsource generates code for all matching resources found in all packages of the current project.

• Add Resource… Adds a single resource to your build configuration. If no resource is defined, Actifsource generates code for all matching resources found in all packages of the current project.

• Edit… Edits the current entry.
• Remove Removes the current entry.
• Ignore Whitespaces Actifsource calculates a checksum (MD5 hash) for every generated file.
  If this option is checked, Actifsource will ignore whitespaces when calculating the checksum.
• Execute Save Actions Eclipse supports so called Save Actions after a file has been saved (i.e. code formatting). If this option is checked, save actions are executed after generating the files.

Template Folders

This feature is for beta users and developers only and might be used to reference folders for templates of third party products.

Project Dependencies

Use the project dependencies if you like to split your model in different Actifsource projects. Note that you have to set the project dependencies, before you might reference packages and resources from other projects in the target folder.

• Add Project Adds a new project dependency.
• Edit… Edits the current project dependency.
• Remove Removes the current project dependency.

Built-in Dependencies

Use the built-in dependencies to reference any Actifsource built-in models.

• Add Builtin Adds a new built-in project dependency.
• Edit… Edits the current built-in project dependency.
• Remove Removes the current built-in project dependency.

Project Properties

All settings shown in Chapter 2.5 Project Wizard can be found in Project/Properties/Actifsource.

Standard Package Structure

We suggest the following package structure.

• Generic The generic package contains the meta-model.
• Specific The specific package contains the domain model.
• Template The template package contains the code templates.

Project Menu

Use the project menu to control the build system of Eclipse and Actifsource.

• Build Automatically If Build Automatically is switched on, Eclipse will build the project automatically after changed files have been saved.

  Actifsource also generates Java classes for internal use. Generating these internal classes is also switched off by Build Automatically and you can’t expect Actifsource to work correctly. Therefore, please make sure that Build Automatically is switched on.

  Please make yourself familiar with the Eclipse Builder concept. See Project/Properties/Builders to see the active builders for your project and their execution order (see Chapter 7.7 Eclipse Builder).

• Generate Automatically If Generate Automatically is switched on, Actifsource will generate code after saving changed files. If Generate Automically is not switched on, you have to trigger code generation manually (Right-click on the Eclipse project and select Generate Code).

  Actifsource also generates Java classes for internal use. Generating these internal classes is not switched off by Generate Automatically.

• Enable External Builder This feature is for beta users and developers only. Since Actifsource is developed by Actifsource, we must be able to build ourselves with the current version. The external builder is compiled at development time and ensures that every change in the Actifsource workspace affects the next code generation run.

Toolbar

The Actifsource toolbar provides you with two important tools.

• New Actifsource Resource The new resource tool lets you create a new Actifsource resource in the selected package. The new resource tool only allows creating so called root classes.

• Open Actifsource Resource This tool shows all resources and allows filtering by name. Please note that this operation might be slow for a large amount of resources.

Project Explorer

The project explorer let you access your resource files. Resources are stored as xml files and named by the GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) of the resource. Since this format is incomprehensible for humans, the Project Explorer shows the name for named resources.

Link with Editor

Switch on the option Link with Editor to synchronize the project explorer with the currently active editor.

Actifsource Presentation

Actifsource allows you to show aggregated resources sorted by relation or just by their occurrence in the containing class.

• Group Aggregation By Relation switched on

  

• Group Aggregation By Relation switched off

  

Package Presentation

• Flat Package Presentation Using the flat package presentation, all packages are shown as a flat list.

  

• Hierarchical Package Presentation Using the hierarchical package presentation, the hierarchy is preserved. Note that folders which do not contain files are shown flat anyhow. This might lead to problems if you like to add new files or folders in a collapsed package. Just switch to the flat package presentation to solve this problem.

  

Drag and Drop

Use drag and drop to move resources between packages. All references to the resource are kept automatically.

Project Explorer Context Menu

The context menu of the project explorer supports several important operations on packages and resources.

New Dialog

The new/Actifsource dialog creates different types of actifsource files. For some types of resources, you can create new resources based on existing resources.

• New Actifsource Project Creates a new Actifsource project in the current workspace with the project wizard, as shown in Chapter 2.5 Project Wizard.
• New BuildConfig Creates a new BuildConfig which can be referenced in target folders (see Chapter 2.5.3 Target Folder and Chapter 7 Build Config).
• New Class Diagram Creates a new class diagram for UML-like Meta-Model design. The class diagram is the easiest way to create Meta-Models.
• New Diagram Type Creates a new diagram type which defines a user specific domain diagram. Creating a new diagram type on an existing class preselects this class as the RootClass.
• New Domain Diagram Creates a new domain diagram. Domain diagrams are based on diagram types.Creating a domain diagram on an existing resource preselects this resource as the singleRoot. The diagram type is automatically selected by the type of the singleRoot. If no singleRoot is defined, it is created automatically with the type defined by the diagram type.
• New FunctionSpace Creates a new function space (see Chapter 9.2 Function Space).
• New Package Creates a new package.
• New Resource Creates a new resource of any type.
• New Resource Folder Creates a new resource folder (see Chapter 2.5.2 Resource Paths).
• New Template Creates a new code template (see Chapter Template Editor). Creating a new template on an existing class preselects this class as the base type.

Open with

The Open with dialog forces eclipse to open files with a specific editor. The first element in the Open With list is the default editor. Once opened with another than the default editor Eclipse reminds this setting when double clicking the file to open. Just select Open With/Default Editor to restore the settings.

Actifsource supports the following editor types:

• Resource Editor The Actifsource Resource Editor is the standard editor which opens all types of Actifsource resources.
• Class Diagram Editor The Actifsource Class Diagram Editor opens resources of type ClassDiagram.
• Domain Diagram Editor The Actifsource Domain Diagram Editor opens resources of type DomainDiagram.
• Template Editor The Actifsource Template Editor opens resources of type Template.

Rename Resources and Packages

You may rename any resource or package via the context menu/rename or by pressing F2 (Windows).

Generic Refactoring

If you change your meta-model, any depending domain model might become invalid. Actifsource lets you register a piece of Java code, which transforms all existing domain models to fit the new meta-model.

Actifsource also uses this feature intensely if there are changes in the core model (meta meta-model). Please make sure to check the release notes to see if you need to run a Generic Refactoring after updating to a new Actifsource Version.

Compare With

Working together in a team, you might have collisions when checking Actifsource resource files (.asr) into your version control system (i.e. CVS, SVN, GIT etc.).

Actifsource lets you compare resources and resolve conflicts in the compare view of the Resource Editor.

Show Resource Dependencies

In the context menu of the selected resource you will find the following commands to show specific dependencies.

• Show Instances Shows all instances of the selected resource. Note that a resource must be of type Class to have instances. See also Chapter 2.12.2.
• Show Types Shows all types of the selected resource (typeof statement). See also Chapter 2.12.2.
• Show Subclasses Shows all sub classes of the selected resource (extend statement). Note that a resource must be of type Class to have sub classes. See also Chapter 2.12.2.
• Show Superclasses Shows all super classes of the selected resource (extend statement). Note that a resource must be of type Class to have super classes. See also Chapter 2.12.2.
• Show References Shows all resources that are referencing the selected resource. See also Chapter 2.12.6.
• Sot Property Sorts resources referenced by a relation. Note that you can sort according to any literal attribute (i.e. name).

Actifsource Views

AQL Query

The Actifsource Query Language let you query the model.

Hierarchy

Shows the hierarchy between resources.

Model Inconsistencies

Shows all model inconsistencies calculated by the validator. Make sure that this view is always visible to check whether your model is valid or not. Note that the code generator could throw an exception if your model is invalid.

Model Navigator

The model navigator shows all resources sorted by projects, packages and types. Use the model navigator to find classes outside your project.

Protected Regions

Shows all protected regions from a generated file. Click on the entry to navigate to the protected region in the selected file.

References

Shows all references to a specific resource in the form Subject-Predicate-Object while object is the referenced resource.

Resource Editor

Overview

The Actifsource Resource Editor allows you to view and/or edit any Actifsource resource. Since everything is a resource in Actifsource this is the most important editor.

The Actifsource Resource Editor shows resources as tree (similar to the Windows Explorer).

Aggregated vs. Referenced Resource

Actifsource distinguish between aggregated and referenced resources. An aggregated resource lives in the context of the parent resource. Deleting the parent resource will delete all aggregated resources.

Referenced resource may live anywhere in the model and are just referenced. Delete the referencing class will not affect the lifetime of the referenced resource.

Property

All information is grouped by properties (see also Chapter Property). Actifsource distinguish the following property types.

Open/Close Folding

To work with large resources efficiently, Actifsource can expand or collapse aggregated resources.

Use the following possibilities to expand/collapse resources.

The typeOf Statement

The typeOf statement of a resource shows the instantiation relation and declares the type of this resource.

Actifsource only allows a typeOf relation to resources of type Class.

Read Only View

Deploying Actifsource Models as an Eclipse Plugin (see Chapter 15 Plugin Project) leads to a read only view of the models. Models that are read-only are displayed in gray colors.

Breadcrumb

The breadcrumb helps you navigating large resources.

Navigating resources

Clicking on the arrow in the breadcrumb allows you navigating all resources from the same property.

Focusing aggregated resources

Clicking on a resource in the breadcrumb allows you to focus only on this aggregated resource. Use this feature to work with large resource files.

Browse resource

Actifsource allows you to browse any resource in any editor.

To browse any resources in actifsource use the following possibilities.

Insert resource

Insert on the empty line

Actifsource shows an empty line for all properties which might have another instance (depends on the subject cardinality; see Chapter 4.4.1 Property).

To insert a resources on the empty line use the following possibilities.

Insert before or after properties

Actifsource allows inserting resources before or after existing properties.

To insert an aggregated resource before or after an existing resource use the following possibilities.

Reference resource

To reference any resource use the content assist.

You may also type some letters to filter the resources.

New referenced resource

You are able to create new referenced resources just by typing the named and select new from the content assist.

The place where the resource is created depends on the UseRangeRestrictionAspect (see Chapter 4.4.4 UseRelation). If there is no UseRangeRestrictionAspect defined, the new resource is created in the same package as the referencing resource.

Move resource

If you need to change the order you can simple move resources up and down within the same property.

To move resources up and down use the following possibilities.

Sort property

Actifsource lets you sort all resources of the same property by any literal (i.e. name property).

Quick Assist

Sometimes Actifsource offers a quick assist to fix common issues. Hoover the mouse pointer over the light bulb symbol to get a tooltip with a short description of the problem.

Click on the bulb symbol to get the possible solutions.

Core Model Meta Meta-Model

Overview Core Model

Every meta-model is based on the Actifsource Core Model. Make sure that you understand the concepts of Resource, Class and Property before you start creating your own meta-model.

Resource

In Actifsource everything is a Resource. That means that every Resource you create extends the Resource. Even Resource extends Resource, so that the core model can describe itself.

If the Resource shall has a name you can extend from NamedResource.

Class

Creating your own meta-model you have to specify a set of classes and their relationships. The Core Model therefore provides you a NamedResource called Class. Class is the only Resource in Actifsource that can be instantiated where in this context we mean by instantiate that there is a typeOf relation. For that reason Resource is of type Class and Class extends NamedResource.

This recursive definition becomes necessary as the Actifsource core model has to describe itself. You can say that the Actifsource core model is meta-model of itself.

Property

Any information is modelled by a property. Specifying your own class therefore also means specifying all properties of this class.

There are different types of properties.

Property

The property acts as an abstract base class. Please note that properties are fully typed. In Actifsource the type of a property is named range.

Every resource that can be referenced by a range has to be of type AbstractType. One abstract type you already know by now is Class.

• SubjectCardinality The Property defines the subject cardinality which determines how many resources of type B can be referenced by a resource of type A via relation b.
  
  You may choose one of the following predefined cardinality instances.
  
  It is also possible to define any other cardinality just by specifying minCardinality and maxCardinality.
  

• Relation The relation acts as an abstract base class for any relation property between classes.

• Extends The relation extends allows you to define sub-properties of existing properties in a super class.
  
  ASub.bSub extends A.b in the following example. That means that instances of ASub can have only references to resources of type BSub while it is still possible to access the ASub.bSub resources via A.b as type of B
  
  It is also possible to have more than one sub-property that extends the same super-property, as long as the sum of cardinalities of the sub-properties complies with the cardinality of the super-property.
  
  Please note that is it only allowed to extend a property of the same type (i.e. UseRelation extends UseRelation, Composition extends Composition).

• ObjectCardinality The Relation defines the object cardinality which determines how many resources of type A can reference a resource of type B via relation b
  
  You may choose one of the following predefined cardinality instances.
  

UseRelation

The UseRelation (UML: Association) references another resource without affecting the lifetime of this resource. Deleting the referencing resource will not delete the referenced resource.

The range of UseRelation is AbstractType.

• UseRangeRestrictionAspect You may want to restrict resources that can be referenced by a UseRelation depending on their context. Consider a state machine where only target states of the own state machine shall be selected.
  
  Let’s define a UseRangeRestriction aspect for Transition.state that allows only states of the own state machine. Select the ResourceSelectorAspectImplementation for the easy to use Selector-Syntax (see Chapter 9.3.2 SelectorFunction) or the JavaAspectImplementation for a powerful Java implementation.
  
  Starting from Transition navigating backwards via transition and state (note the minus sign for backward navigation) to Statemachine where navigating forward to all States.

Composition

The Composition (UML: Aggregation, Composition) aggregates another resource. Deleting the aggregating resource of type A will delete the referenced resources of type B

Please note that you have to adjust the ObjectCardinality if B may be owned either from A1 or A2

The range of Composition is Class.

DecoratingRelation

Combining two existing models together is a very important task. Sometimes this is done by so called model transformation. Actifsource chooses another way, because model transformation often only works in one direction. Actifsource allows decorating existing resources with other ones. That means that we can add any auxiliary information to already existing information. You will find out that this is a very powerful concept.

The DecoratingRelation allows building a homomorphism. A homomorphism is a structure-preserving map between two structures. The word homomorphism comes from the ancient Greek language: ὁμός (homos) meaning "same" and μορφή (morphe) meaning "shape".

Consider a resource A1 with a list b1 of resources of type B1 Consider a second List A2 that has a reference a1 to a resource of type A1 The decorating relation A2.b2 shall have 0..1 resources of type B2 for any resources reached via A2.a1.b1

The decorating relation A2.b2 needs a decorating aspect which defines where to find the resources that shall be decorated.

Let us create a resource TestA1 of type A1 first.

Now let us create a resource TestA2 of type A2 with a reference to TestA1 Please note that A2.b2 is now decorating A2.a1.b1 what is indicated by the brackets (i.e. b1[B1_1]).

Creating a decorated resource will automatically fill in the target property b1

Please note that the decorating relation needs a subclass of type Decorator.

If your decorating relation does not point to a resource which fits the requirements Actifsource comes up with a quick assist (see also Chapter 3.10 Quick Assist).

The quick assist extends the range of the decorating relation from Decorator and adds a sub relation to Decorator.target with type of the target of your decorating aspect.

SelectorRelation

[TBD]

Attribute

The Attribute allows creating simple literals. There are some predefined literal instances that you might use. Please note that the range of an attribute is Literal where Literal is also an AbstractType as already seen for Class (see Chapter 4.4.1 Property).

• BooleanLiteral The Boolean literal allows the values true or false only.
• DoubleLiteral The double literal is a 64 bit floating point value.
• IntegerLiteral The integer literal is a 32 bit integral value.
• LongLiteral The long literal is a 64 bit integral value.
• StringLiteral The string literal is a single-line string value.
• TextLiteral The text literal is a multi-line string value.
• ScopePathLiteral The scope literal allows referencing any file in the current project.
• JavaTypeLiteral The Java type literal allows referencing a Java class or interface.
• JavaClassLiteral The Java type literal allows referencing a Java class.
• JavaInterfaceLiteral The Java type literal allows referencing a Java interface.

AbstractType

As we have seen before, Class and Literal both extend AbstractType. Furthermore, AbstractLiteral is of type Literal and Resource is of type Class. To complete this picture, we can add Any which is of type AbstractType.

Core Resources

The Actifsource Core provides a set of resources that allows you to build your own meta-model. The most important resources are Class with its Properties and Enum.

ch.actifsource.core.Class

• typeOf To act as a class a resource has to be of type Class. To be type something of means to be an instance of something.
• comment The comment text literal let you comment your classes and literals. Comments are shown in tooltips when hovering the mouse pointer over class and property names.

• aspect[InitializationAspect] The initialization aspect initializes a resource during creation. To be provided as Java class.
• aspect[ResourceValidationAspect] The resource validation aspect defines specific validation rules for a resource. To be provided as Java class.
• aspect[NameAspect] The name aspect defines the name of a resource. To be provided as Java class or in the simple selector syntax.

• extends Defines the base class and inherits all properties when instantiating.
• modifier The modifier defines if a class can be instantiated or sub classed.\

• property Defines the property of this class. Properties carry the data when instantiating the class. Choose the property type you need (see also Chapter Property).

  

• definesAspect Defines aspects for instances of this class (see also aspect[InitializationAspect], aspect[ResourceValidationAspect], aspect\NameAspect] which are defined in the aspect property of the class Class.

• allowRoot A Class is a root class if it is not aggregated exclusively (that mean owned by an ownRelation with ObjectCardinality1_1). Set this flag to true or false if you want to overwrite the Actifsource logic.
  Please note that only root classes can be created directly via the New Actifsource Resource Tool (see Chapter 2.9.1 New Actifsource Resource).

• classIcon Sets an icon for this class and all instances. You can select an icon project by using content assist to browse the current project. The icon size shall be 16 x 16 pixels.

• lineColor Deprecated.

• fillColor Deprecated.

• shape Deprecated.

ch.actifsource.core.Enum

The enum is a class with a set of values.

• Value Technically the value is an instance of the enum and therefore fully typed.

Diagram Editor

Overview

Actifsource offers graphical editors to view and edit the meta-model and model. For editing the model it is possible to define domain-specific editors.

Class Diagram Editor

The class diagram editor allows you to create new meta-models based on Actifsource classes.

New Class Diagram

You can create a new class diagram via context menu in the project explorer or File/New.

Preselecting a package will directly fill in the resource path and package in the wizard.

Palette

Use the palette to edit your diagram.

• Select Selects one or many classes from the diagram. Use Ctrl+Click for multi select.

• Marquee Selects classes from the diagram within a rectangle.

• Extension Derives a class from another class by adding a Class.extend statement in the sub class.

  

  Inserting an extends-relation from MySubClass to MyClass would add an extends-relation from MySubClass to MyClass as expected. At the same time the extends-relation from MySubSubClass to NamedResource is removed because MyClass already extends NamedResource.
  The same rule also applies when extending from Resource.

• Relation Inserts a relation from a class to another. Select one of the relation types or a base relation. Selecting a base relation automatically selects the relation type needed (see Chapter Property).

• Note Connects class to any note. See also New Note.
• New Class Inserts a new class on the diagram and in the model. Note that the preselected namespace (package and/or containing resource) is the same as the package of the class diagram.

• New Enum Inserts a new enum on the diagram and in the model. For other properties see also Chapter 4.6.2 ch.actifsource.core.Enum.
• New Note Inserts a new note on the diagram. Click on the first text line of the note to enter the edit mode.

Drag and Drop

Use the drag and drop feature from the project explorer to add an existing class to your diagram.

Context Menu

Use the context menu on the diagram background.

• Show Shows any existing resource in the scope of your project. Use this feature to insert resources from third party or Actifsource models to your diagram (i.e. Actifsource Core Model).

Class Context Menu

Use the content menu on any class.

• Delete from Diagram Deletes this class from the diagram only but not from the model. Use Delete on the keyboard to delete selected classes from the diagram.
• Delete from Model Deletes this class from the diagram and from the model. Use Shift+Delete on the keyboard to delete selected classes from the diagram and from the model.
• Show Attributes Shows attributes (literals) in an UML-like style.

• Hide Attributes Hides shown attribute (see also Show Attributes).

• Instances Inserts instances of a specific class on the diagram.

  

• Types Shows the types (Class.typeOf statement) of a specific class.

• Super Class Shows the superclass (Class.extend statement) of a specific class. You this feature repeatedly to show the inheritance hierarchy.

Browse Resource

Open any class in the resource editor by Ctrl+Click on the class name.

Domain Diagram Editor

The domain diagram editor allows you to create new models based on your meta-model.

New Domain Diagram

You can create a new class diagram via context menu in the project explorer or File/New.

Preselecting a package will directly fill in the resource path and package in the wizard.

• Name The name of the domain diagram.
• Diagram Type Every domain uses its own diagram styles. The DiagramType lets you define your domain-specific domain diagrams (see Chapter 6 Domain Diagram Type).
  If there is no diagram type defined, the diagram editor has a default behavior and shows resources and their relationships (use and own relation, dependencies).

As a very simple example, let us define a diagram type for a state machine meta-model.

As the root class (see also Single Root) we choose Statemachine. This means that we can only edit elements that are part of the state machine.

The allowed class is State since we like to edit states. Between states there are transitions. A Transition is an indirect relation from State via Transition to State.

The minimal diagram type shown above leads to a domain specific state event diagram.

• SingleRoot If there is a single root defined, every resource is created in the context of the single root. If no single root is defined, resources are created in the same package as the domain diagram.

New Domain Diagram for Resource

You can create a new domain diagram for a single root directly by calling New/Domain Diagram on a resource.

Palette

Use the palette to edit the domain diagram.

• Select Selects one or many classes from the diagram. Use Ctrl+Click for multi select.
• Edit Edits figures with a FigureEditableLabelSelector.

• Marquee Selects classes from the diagram within a rectangle.
• Relation Inserts a relation from a resource to another.
• Resources Inserts a new resource on the diagram and in the model.

• Search Searches allowed classes with a defined search path.\

Drag and Drop

Use the drag and drop feature from the project explorer to add an existing resource to your diagram.

Context Menu

• Delete from Model Deletes this resource from the diagram and from the model. Use Shift+Delete on the keyboard to delete selected resources from the diagram and from the model.

• Hide Resource Deletes this resource from the diagram but not from the model. Use Delete on the keyboard to hide selected resources from the diagram.

• Show Resource Shows any hidden resource in the scope of the selected resource. If this action is called on the background of the diagram, the scope is your single root.

• Show/Hide Resource Part Shows or hides aggregated parts (see Chapter 4.4.5 Composition).
  
  
  
  

• Router Selects between different routing algorithms.\

  Router	Description	Image
  Default	Manual routing by dragging
  Manhatten	Lines are routed with 90°
  NoIntersection	As few intersections as

Browse Resource

Open any class in the resource editor by Ctrl+Click on the class name.

Browse Diagram

Actifsource automatically detects resources that are also shown on other diagrams. Simply click on the diagram symbol to list and browse the other diagrams.

Domain Diagram Type

Overview

Domain diagrams are domain-specific by definition. This means that you can define your own domain-specific diagrams.

Shape

Figure

Build Config

Overview

The Actifsource BuildConfig acts like a make file. It tells Actifsource which build tasks shall be executed. The most important build task for code generation is the TemplateGeneratorTask.

New BuildConfig

You can create a new build configuration via context menu in the project explorer or File/New.

Actifsource suggests adding templates to the build configuration which are not assigned to any other build configuration yet.

For every selected template, Actifsource creates a so called a TemplateGeneratorTask as shown below.

BuildConfig and TargetFolder

Build configurations have to be registered with target folders to take any effect (see also Chapter 2.5.3 Target Folder and Chapter 2.6 Project Properties).

Output Encoding

For every build configuration you may select the output encoding.

If no output encoding has been set, the one from the parent build configuration (see also Chapter 7.6.2 NestedBuildConfigGeneratorTask), folder, parent folder, project, or workspace is taken (in this order).

Check Properties/Resource/Text file encoding on folder or project.

Check Window/Preferences/General/Workspace/Text file encoding on workspace.

Line Break

For every build configuration you may select the line break style.

If no line break has been set, the one from the parent build configuration (see also Chapter 7.6.2 NestedBuildConfigGeneratorTask), project, or workspace is taken.

BuildTask

The build configuration lists all build tasks. Build tasks are executed in the order as listed. There are different types of build tasks. The most important one is the TemplateGeneratorTask.

Template Generator Task

The template generator task defines which templates have to be built.

• Template References the template.

• Omit File Id Actifsource normally inserts an id at the end of every generated file. This file id helps identify and track generated code.

  

  The Actifsource ID is assembled as follows.
  /* Actifsource ID=\[TemplateGUID,SuperContextGUID\*,BaseContextGUID,MD5Hash\] */

  Element	Descriptiom
  Comment Tags	The comment tags (i.e. /* */) are given by the language
  Actifsource ID	Static identifier
  TemplateGUID	GUID of the template which created this file
  SuperContextGUID	GUID of the resources which contains the base resource
  BaseContextGUID	GUID of the base resources of this file
  MD5Hash	A hash code over the generated code but not including protected regions to detect if the generated code has been changed manually. To ignore white spaces when building the MD5 hash check Chapter 2.5.3 Target Folder.

NestedBuildConfigGeneratorTask

The nested build configurator task let you reference and execute existing build configurations.

• Build Config References any existing build configuration.
• Target Sub Path Defines a sub path to the target folder (see also Chapter 2.5.3 Target Folder).

CopyTask

Copies a file or a folder to a specified target path. Please note that this tasks needs a built-in dependency to WORKSPACE (see Chapter 2.5.6 Built-in Dependencies).

• Resource The file or folder to copy. There are different resource types.\

• Recursive All subfolders are copied if set to true.
• Merge Duplicate Folders When enabled, the generator allows merging content from different folders into one folder. Otherwise an error will occur.
• Target The target to copy the files or folders. There are different target types.\

DeleteFolderTask

Deletes the specified folders relative to the target folder. Please note that this tasks needs a built-in dependency to WORKSPACE (see Chapter 2.5.6 Built-in Dependencies).

• Path A path relative to the target folder.

ExecuteProcessBuildTask

Executes any process on your operating system. Please note that this tasks needs a built-in dependency to WORKSPACE (see also Chapter 2.5.6 Built-in Dependencies).

To execute a shell command on windows, choose cmd as shell command, /c as first argument, and your shell command and parameters as subsequent arguments.

• Directory Directory to execute the process relative to the target project.
• Command The command (without arguments) to execute.
• Argument The arguments of the command.

GraphvizBuiltTask

Runs the graphviz dot command on all .dot files in the target folder. Please note that this tasks needs a built-in dependency to GRAPHVIZ (see also Chapter 2.5.6 Built-in Dependencies).

Make sure that you have graphviz installed (see www.graphviz.org) and reachable in your path.

• Styleheet A css stylesheet if needed.

• Adapt Size If set to true, the generated diagram's width is set to 100%.

Eclipse Builder

Eclipse supports so called Builders to build anything. In C/C++ there is the CDT Builder to build executables and libraries from header and source files. In Java there is the Java Builder to build .class files from .java files.

In Actifsource there is the Actifsource Builder to generate code from the model (.asr files).

Make sure that the builders are arranged in the correct order. You will find the settings in Project/Properties/Builder.

Template Editor

Overview

As already seen in Chapter 1.1 Working with models, the Actifsource Template Editor allows you to write meta-code based on the meta-model. Writing meta-code means to write code along the structures which are given by the meta-model without knowing the specific domain model.

New Template

A template is either based on a type (Class, Enum) or not.

Create a template based on type

Creating a template based on a specific type (Class) is the normal case. Consider a nested Parent-Child structure with the following meta-model.

For every specific parent-child structure there is at least a resource of type Parent to start with. So let’s start writing meta-code based on the class Parent

To create a template based on the class Parent simply choose New/Template from the context menu of the class Parent

The New Template Wizard helps to configure the template settings.

Set the options as needed.

Please note that there is a short way for choosing the package. Just type the first few letters of a package followed by a dot. Using content assist (Ctrl+Space) shows the matching packages.

Creating a template based on a type (i.e. class Parent opens an editor with a predefined selector Build.allParent. This means that this template is executed for all resources of type Parent

Create a Build.once Template

To create a Build.once template simply choose New/Template from the context menu of a package. Please note that the template is created in the chosen package.

The New Template Wizard asks for the template name and even allows you to add a base type afterwards using the content assist (Ctrl+Space). Adding a base type leads to a template based on a type (see Chapter 8.2.1 Create a template based on type).

Creating a Build.once template opens an editor with a predefined selector Build.once@BuiltIn. That means that this template is executed only once.

Writing template code

Writing template code is nearly as easy as writing common code – thanks to the Actifsource Template Editor.

Base Context

The Actifsource Template Editor lets you write code in the context of the meta-model.

The orange bar on the left is the context you are in. Creating a template for the class Parent lets you work in the context of this class.

The context derived from the base type (see Chapter 8.2.1 Create a template based on type) is called base context.

File Line

First of all you have to specify a proper name. Since we want to generate a file for any instance of the class Parent, we have to specify a file name that is unique for every Parent instance.

The name of the generated files is derived from the specific resource instance for which code is generated. Use content assist (Ctrl+Space) to access the properties of the class which is bound to the base context by the Selector.

The following file name will create files named Parent.name while Parent.name is replaced by the name of the specific instance of class Parent Text elements referring to the model are called links and displayed underlined.

Please note that the file extension .hpp automatically selects the Language C++ (see Chapter 8.3.3 Language Line and Chapter 8.4 Declaring a Programming Language).

It is also possible to define a folder structure in the file line. The generated files will be placed in the defined folders.

Language Line

The language line defines the programming language for

• Syntax Highlighting
• Comment Style
• String Style including escape rules

Actifsource defines the most common languages. If you are using a language which is not defined by default (see Chapter 8.4.1 Supported Programming Languages), do not hesitate to create one by your own (see Chapter 8.4 Declaring a Programming Language).

You may change the language at any time by using the content assist (Ctrl+Space) on the language line.

Selecting or changing a file extension in the file line (see Chapter 8.3.2 File Line) automatically selects the corresponding language.

Use Ctrl+Click on the language to show the underlying language model (see Chapter 8.4 Declaring a Programming Language).

File Tab

There are always situations where two or more files belong to each other (i.e. hpp/cpp in C++). Actifsource therefore supports file tabs.

Just press the [+] button right next to the file tabs to add a new file tab.

Press the X button to delete the active file tab.

Press Ctrl+Tab to select next tab from within the code section.

SuperContext

Let’s assume that we want to generate a file for every Child instance.

For that reason we create a template with Child as base type.

Since Child is owned by Parent.child, Actifsource automatically provides you with a super context of type Parent

Please note that the base context (i.e. Child in this example) is the widest bar ( ).

Writing Code

Let’s start writing code. First we write a C++ class named Parent.name while Parent.name is replaced by the name of the specific instance of class Parent

To insert a reference to the meta-model just use content assist (Ctrl+Space) at any time.

Underlined words are so called links which are directly linked with your model.

You can always navigate to the corresponding resource in the model by using Ctrl+Click on the links as shown below or the tool from the toolbar.

Saving the above template leads to one file for every resource of type Parent in your project.

A build config is needed to work with resources from other projects (see Chapter 7 Build Config).

Using type names in the template code

Please note that you might insert type names directly in the template code by using the content assist (Ctrl+Space). If the desired type name is not available, press Ctrl+Space again to get all available type names.

The type name is inserted just as given. The advantage of using type names in the template is the automatic renaming if the name of the type is changed.

Open Link

You can always open a resource link in the template editor.

• Open Link with Default Editor Use one of the following methods to open a link in the default editor (see Chapter 2.11.2 Open with).

Action	Opens	Description
Ctrl+Click	Default Editor	Press Ctrl+Click on the link to open the resource
F3	Default Editor	Press F3 on the current cursor position to open the resource
	Default Editor	Click Open Link in ResourceEditor from toolbar on the current cursor position to open the resource	\

To open a function link in the function editor use the default editor. To open the function model use the resource editor (see below).

• Open Link with Resource Editor Use one of the following methods to open a link in the resource editor (see Chapter 2.11.2 Open with).

Action	Opens	Description
Ctrl+Alt+Click	Resource Editor	Press Ctrl+Click on the link to open the Editor resource
Alt+F3	Resource Editor	Press F3 on the current cursor position to open Editor the resource
	Resource Editor	Click Open Link in ResourceEditor from the toolbar on the current cursor position to open the resource

Line Context, Column Context, Protected Context

Actifsource knows three different types of contexts.

• Line Context The line context consists of one or more lines in a file. The text in the line context is repeated for any resource reached by the selector (see chapter 8.3.10 Working with Context). To insert a line context use the Insert LineContext tool from the toolbar or press Alt+Insert.
• Column Context The column context consists of one or more columns of a line. The text in the column context is repeated for any resource reached by the selector (see Chapter 8.3.10 Working with Context). To insert a column context use the Insert ColumnContext tool from the toolbar or press Alt+Shift+Insert.
  
• Protected Context The protected context allows inserting so called protected regions into the generated files.
  

The content of the Protected Regions is saved before regenerating and inserted in the newly generated file. Use Protected Regions to insert handwritten code into generated files.

The protected context consists of one or more lines in a file. The text in the protected context is repeated for any resource reached by the selector (see Chapter 8.3.10 Working with Context) and generated. To insert a protected context use the Insert ProtectedContext tool from the toolbar.

Please note that changing the name of the Protected Region or the involved resources leads to new Protected Regions while the old once are moved to the end of the file.

Working with Contexts

Adding and removing a context is one of the most important operations when working with the Template Editor.

Use the Template Editor Toolbar to add, remove or navigate contexts.

Context Operation	Icon	Shortcut	Description
Select TopContext		Alt+Home	Selects the top context
Select		Alt+PgUp	Selects the parent context from the actual context
Select		Alt+PgDown	Selects the child context from the actual context
Select		Alt+End	Selects the bottom context
Insert LineContext		Alt+Insert	Inserts a line context in the actual context
Insert		Alt+Shift+Insert	Inserts a column context in the actual context
Insert			Inserts a protected context in the actual contextt
Delete Context		Alt+Delete	Delete the actual context

• Navigate Context via Select Tools Using the Context Select Tools in the Toolbar you might change the selection of the context from parent to child and vice versa.
  

• Navigate Context via Breadcrumb A context can be selected by clicking on the Breadcrumb.
  

• Navigate Context via Context Bar A context can also be selected by clicking on the context bar.
  

• Add Context A new context is always added after the actually selected context. Navigate to a certain context before inserting a new context as shown above.
  Let’s assume that we want create a function identifyChild.name for every child in the parent context. For that reason we insert a new context using the Insert LineContext tool from the toolbar.
  

As a second step you have to declare a selector (see Chapter 8.3.12 Selector) to define the context.

Since our base context is Parent we have to traverse the relation Parent.child to reach all children from parent.

Choose the relation Parent.child for the selector using content assist (Ctrl+Space).

Using content assist in the new context you are now able to use links on resources of type Child

To complete the task from above insert a function named identifyChild.name

Line 4 is now repeated for any resource of type Child reached by the relation Parent.child

• Add Context via Quick-Assist Using the quick assist is the most efficient way to add a new context.

To create a new context with the selector Parent.child just insert the link Parent.child using context assist (Ctrl+Space). A light bulb indicates that there is a quick assist available. Click on the light bulb or press Ctrl+1 to open the quick assist.

You are now allowed to create a line context or a column context directly with Parent.child as the selector.

A new context is inserted with the desired selector. Parent.child is automatically replaced by Child which is the result of the selector.

• Automatic Context growth Adding new lines (pressing return) automatically lets the context grow.

• Add Content between existing Contexts

Consider two contexts that follow each other (line 4 and 5 in the following example). How to insert new content between line 4 and line but in the base context?

Place the cursor on the end of line 4 as shown above and press cursor right. The cursor will still remain at the same position but the context selection will change to the parent context.

Entering a new line is done in the selected parent context and results in a new line between the existing contexts.

Copy/Paste

Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) in the Template Editor has some special features to work with links and contexts.

• Copy/Paste with Link Links can be easily copied like text.

• Copy/Paste with Context The Copy action takes care on all nested contexts in the current context. The following situation won’t copy the selected line context C on line 2 but the nested column context D

If you have to copy the line context C on line 2 just navigate to the base context (see Chapter 8.3.10 Working with Contexts) what makes the line context a nested context.

There is also a command Copy with Context in the context menu which allows to specify the position from which context are copied. The following situation shows a selection on line 2 where the copy operation allows to copy with context C or B

Please note that it makes no sense to copy the base context (see Chapter 8.3.1 Base Context) or even the super context (see Chapter 8.3.5 SuperContext) because they are part of the whole template.

Selector

The selector allows navigating the meta-model and is extremely powerful. Please consult Chapter 9.3.2 SelectorFunction for details.

Use the Switch to Selector tool from the tool bar or Alt+Enter to navigate from the code to the selector. Use Enter in the selector to jump back to the code.

• Break Flag Consider the following situation:

The subsequent template iterates over Container.element and prints the name of every element.

Let’s assume that we write template code that shall produce different code depending whether Container.element is of type ElementA ElementB or ElementC

A straightforward solution is introducing a context with a type cast for type in the inheritance hierarchy.

The problem is that a resource type of ElementC is also of type ElementB and ElementA Therefore the above template prints lines 2, 3 and 4 for resources f type ElementC But the intention is that only line 2 is printed.

Use the break flag in the selector for the desired behavior. If the break flag is set all subsequent context of the same level are skipped. Users familiar with programming language C or C++ can think of the switch/case/break statement.

The following template prints line 2 for resource types of ElementC and then breaks the current iteration to continue with the next resource for Container.element

Line Attributes

Use line attributes on a line context to control the output specific positions of a resource in a list. Place the cursor on the desired line to apply a line attribute.

There are five different types of line attributes which might be applied to a line context.

Context Operation	Icon	Shortcut	Description
First		Alt+1	The first element of the iteration
Not First		Alt+2	All elements of the iteration except the first
Not Last		Alt+3	All elements of the iteration except the last
Last		Alt+4	The last element of the iteration
Empty		Alt+5	For empty iterations

The following template prints the comment on line 7 only for the first element of the iteration over the list Parent.child Please note that line 7 is not printed if Parent.child is empty.

The following example prints a comment on line 8 if Parent.child is empty.

Column Attributes

Use column attributes on a column context to control the output specific positions of a resource in a list. Select the desired characters to apply a line attribute.

There are five different types of column attributes which might be applied to a column context.

Context Operation	Icon	Shortcut	Description
First		Alt+1	The first element of the iteration
Not First		Alt+2	All elements of the iteration except the first
Not Last		Alt+3	All elements of the iteration except the last
Last		Alt+4	The last element of the iteration
Empty		Alt+5	For empty iterations

The following example prints the comma after Param.name for all elements of the iteration except the last.

The next example prints void on line 7 if Parent.child is empty.

FunctionSpace

As shown in Chapter 9.2 Function Space the Template acts as a Functions Space. Therefore functions might be placed directly in the template (see Chapter 9 Functions for details).

Function calls are displayed in italic. In the subsequent example there is a call to Parent.className where className is the function.

To see the model of a function within a template just open the folding on the template.

If a function is placed in a function space other than the own template the function call is displayed with the name of the function space after the @ sign. Parent.className@MyFunctionSpace indicates a function call where the function className is located in the function space MyFunctionSpace

Extract Function

The Actifsource Template Editor allows you to extract selected expressions as functions. Please consider extracting complex expression if you use them more than once.

Selecting an expression which might also contain links leads to a light bulb on the left side which indicates that there is a Quick Assist available. Click on the light bulb or press Ctrl+1 to open the Quick Assist.

Context Path

The path from the outermost to the innermost context is called Context Path. Actifsource uses the Context Path to determine the parameters of a function (see Chapter 9.2.1 Function Parameters).

Consider the following meta-model:

The subsequent template shows nested contexts based on the above meta-model. Please note that the breadcrumb displays the context path for the actual cursor position.

The template shows the following context paths.

Calling a function with parameters is only allowed if the context path is matching.

The following function fD C B A is based on Class D and declaring the parameters c of type C b of type B and a of type A

Calling fD C B A is only allowed if the context path contains at least A B C, and D in the given order.

Consider a function fD A which is based on Class D and declaring a parameter a of type A It is allowed to call this function on the context path A B C, and D because it contains A and D in the correct order.

Declaring a Programming Language

The Actifsource Template editor does syntax highlighting for keywords, comments, and strings. The actual selected language is determined by the Language Line (see Chapter 8.3.3 Language Line).

Supported Programming Languages

Currently Actifsource supports syntax highlighting for the following programming, script, markup, or domain languages.

TemplateLanguage Model

To create your own template language model just instantiate the class TemplateLanguage.

• fileNameExtension The file name extension of the template language is used to automatically select the language line (see Chapter 8.3.3 Language Line) from the file extension in the file line (see Chapter 8.3.2 File Line).

• keywordStyle A list of keywords including the syntax style (color, font modifier)
  

• stringStyle A declaration of start and end tag for strings including the syntax style (color, font modifier)
  

• singleLineComment A declaration of the start tag for single-line comments including the syntax style (color, font modifier)
  

• mutliLineComment A declaration of start and end tag for multi-line comments including the syntax style (color, font modifier)
  

File Extension Priority Rules

You might define your own template language defining the same file name extension as a built-in language. Actifsource will handle user-defined template languages with higher priority so that you can overwrite the standard.

Functions

Overview

Actifsource functions might be called from templates (see ChapterTemplate Editor), from other functions, or from selector relations (see Chapter 4.4.7 SelectorRelation). There are different supported types of functions (see Chapter 9.3 Function types).

Function Space

The function space is the resource where functions are living. We know two different types of functions spaces, both derived from AbstractFunctionSpace.

FunctionSpace is the place where you can place any function. Template is a code template where you can place functions in the scope of the template.

Functions are grouped by a FunctionContext. By the typeRef, the FunctionContext is bound to a Class or an Enum. Functions in the function context are applicable on instances of types referenced by typeRef.

Function Parameters

A function might define a set of parameters. If calling a function from a template, Actifsource automatically tries to match with the context path (see Chapter 8.3.17).

Function parameters are defined in the model of the specific function type (see Chapter 9.3 Function types).

Using function parameters in a template function (see Chapter 9.3.6 TemplateFunction) leads to the corresponding super contexts (see Chapter 8.3.5 SuperContext).

Using function parameters in a java function (see Chapter 9.3.3 SelectorFunction)

Selector functions allow you to navigate the model by using the selector syntax. Starting from a Class defined by FunctionContext.typeRef you may navigate via the resource properties.

Selectors might be used in Templates to select a context. But selectors might also be called from within selectors – even recursively.

• Forward navigation Consider the following meta-model.

  

  We like to define a selector function named getSubChild on Parent which returns all sub-children in all children of the parent. The return type when navigating along a property is given by the range of the property, i.e, in our example the expected return type is a list of elements of type SubChild To navigate from Parent via child to subChild just assemble a selector Parent.child.subChild Make sure to use content assist (Ctrl+Space) when writing selector functions.

This is what a selector function could look like.

• Backward navigation Consider the following meta-model.

To get the Parent instance for a SubChild instance we have to navigate backwards via the subChild and child relation. The selector allows backward navigation via the minus relation.

• List operators Actifsource provides you with the following operators which are defined on lists (where the lists are given by Selector expressions):\

• Down Cast Consider the following meta-model.
  

If you only like to get Leaf components from the Client, just use the type cast operator (colon).

• Up Cast It is always possible to use an upcast to a base class (i.e. Resource or NamedResource) if needed.

• Self Cast If your selector has to return the typeRef instance itself, use the self-cast. Consider the following selector function for Component returning the component instance itself.

• Recursive navigation The diagram below shows a composite pattern as presented in the book Design Patterns from Erich Gamma et al. The composite pattern allows you to recursively instantiate Composite instances, which might aggregate other components of type Leaf or again – of type Composite.

There is an easy way to find the Client of this recursive model using selectors. First, we collect all components including the own component and all parent components.

For that reason we write a selector function for Component which returns the component itself and also all parent components which are reachable by going backwards via the component relation.

To get the Client which is parent of all component just collect all component first by using the above selector functions. From all this components in the collected set there is only one instance aggregated by Client. Let’s write a selector function for that.

Please take extra care because there are two relations named component. One is Composite.component the other one is Client.component Make sure to use Composite.component in allComponent and Client.component in getClient

• Calling selectors with parameters

[TBD]

JavaFunction

leads to the corresponding java function arguments.

Polymorphic calls

Function calls are polymorphic if a function has the same name, the same parameters and a typeRef to a sub class.

In the following example, the function identify is defined for MyClass and MySubClass. There will be a polymorphic call to MyClass.identify dependent on the type of the instance.

Non-Polymorphic calls

There are situations where polymorphic calls are not desired. You have to disable polymorphic calls on every caller. Use the context menu Change to non-virtual call on the function.

A small arrow indicates the non-polymorphic call.

Extends

Polymorphic calls are supported in the same function space by default. Extending another function space enables polymorphic calls over functions spaces.

Function types

Actifsource supports different types of functions.

Abstract Function

Abstract functions shall only be defined on types with an abstract modifier (see Chapter 4.6.1 ch.actifsource.core.Class).

For an abstract function, there must be non-abstract function for any non-abstract subclass in the same function space or in a function space that extends it.

SelectorFunction

Selector functions allow you to navigate the model by using the selector syntax. Starting from a Class defined by FunctionContext.typeRef you may navigate via the resource properties.

Selectors might be used in Templates to select a context. But selectors might also be called from within selectors – even recursively.

• Forward navigation Consider the following meta-model.
  

We like to define a selector function named getSubChild on Parent which returns all sub-children in all children of the parent. The return type when navigating along a property is given by the range of the property, i.e, in our example the expected return type is a list of elements of type SubChild

To navigate from Parent via child to subChild just assemble a selector Parent.child.subChild Make sure to use content assist (Ctrl+Space) when writing selector functions.

This is what a selector function could look like.

• Backward navigation Consider the following meta-model.

To get the Parent instance for a SubChild instance we have to navigate backwards via the subChild and child relation. The selector allows backward navigation via the minus relation.

• List operators Actifsource provides you with the following operators which are defined on lists (where the lists are given by Selector expressions):

• Down Cast Consider the following meta-model.

If you only like to get Leaf components from the Client, just use the type cast operator (colon).

• Up Cast It is always possible to use an upcast to a base class (i.e. Resource or NamedResource) if needed.

• Self Cast If your selector has to return the typeRef instance itself, use the self-cast. Consider the following selector function for Component returning the component instance itself.

• Recursive navigation The diagram below shows a composite pattern as presented in the book Design Patterns from Erich Gamma et al. The composite pattern allows you to recursively instantiate Composite instances, which might aggregate other components of type Leaf or again – of type Composite.

There is an easy way to find the Client of this recursive model using selectors. First, we collect all components including the own component and all parent components.

For that reason we write a selector function for Component which returns the component itself and also all parent components which are reachable by going backwards via the component relation. $

To get the Client which is parent of all component just collect all component first by using the above selector functions. From all this components in the collected set there is only one instance aggregate by Client. Let’s write a selector function for that.

Please take extra care because there are two relations named component. One is Composite.component the other one is Client.component Make sure to use Composite.component in allComponent and Client.component in getClient

• Calling selectors with parameters

[TBD]

JavaFunction

Actifsource supports user-implemented Java functions that make use of the very powerful Javamodel to access the Actifsource models from Java code (see also Section 9.5).

When you declare a Java function, Actifsource automatically generates a function skeleton in a file with the same name as your function space found in the folder src-gen.

You should only modify generated files within protected regions (see Chapter 2.12.5 Protected Regions). Take extra care that import statements are placed within the protected regions – especially if inserted automatically by the Java content assist.

As function arguments, an instance of type FunctionContext.typeRef and all parameters are passed. Use the Java content assist (Ctrl+Space) to display available functions. To access properties choose myClass.selectMyProperty(). For more information on how to access the Javamodel see Chapter 9.5.

• Return Types
  

A Java function has a return type which is either a Type or a TypeReference.

A Type is either a SimpleType or a ListType. A SimpleType can, in particular, be a ClassType, which references any Class, or a LiteralType, which references any Literal. For a LiteralType the return type of the generated Java function is the Java class given by the return value of the method getValueType() of the ILiteralAspect (e.g. in the example above the LiteralAspect of StringLiterals (ch.actifsource.core.model.aspects.impl.String.StringLiteralAspect) defines that java.lang.String represents StringLiterals and, therefore, the the return type of identify is java.lang.String). A ListType references either a Class or a Literal (more precisely, it actually references an AbstractType). The return type of the generated Java function is then a java.util.List<Class>, where Class is the Java class that corresponds to the Literal or the Class. Note that in the latter case the Java class is the wrapper Java class that corresponds to the Actifsource Class and is provided by the Javamodel (see also Chapter 2 and Section 9.5).

A TypeReference is either a GenericContextType or a GenericContextListType. In the first case, the return type of the generated Java function is <T extends C T where C is the Java class corresponding to the type of the element the function is called on (the this-instance). In the second case, the return type of the generated Java function is a <T extends C> java.util.List<T> where T is defined as before (see examples below).

JavaListFunction

Java list functions can be applied to a list of elements defined by a Selector expression, e.g. in the Selector expression Parent.child.myFunction@ChildFunctionSpace the function myFunction is called on the list of all Children reachable from Parent via the relation child (see example in Section 9.3.2). The this-parameter of the generated Java function is then of type java.util.List<\> where C is the Java class corresponding to the typeRef of the FunctionContext (respectively java.util.List<T extends C> if the returnType of the Java list function is GenericContext(List)Type). Consider the following example that is based on the meta-model from Section 9.3.5:

The return types of JavaListFunctions are determined in the same way as for JavaFunctions (see Section 9.3.3). A list of built-in (Java) list functions is presented in Section Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden..

Consider an extended meta-model where Parent can be referenced by a ParentContainer via a relation parent:

In this case, the selector ParentContainer.parent.child.myFunction@MyFunctionSpace constructs for each Parent the list of Children reachable from this Parent and then applies the function myFunction to each of these lists. If the function should be applied to the list of Children reachable indirectly via parent we can write a (Selector)Function that returns a list of all these Children e.g. ParentContainer.getAllChildren@MyFunctionSpace where getAllChildren is a SelectorFunction with the selector ParentContainer.parent.child In the selector ParentContainer.getAllChildren@MyFunctionSpace.myFunction@MyFunctionSpace the function myFunction is only called once on the list of all Children reachable from ParentContainer.

JavaAspectFunction

[TBD]

TemplateFunction

A template function behaves in the same way as a template, but there are no files generated from a template function. Just think of a template function as a sub template which can be expanded in a template or in another template function (also recursively).

Consider the following meta-model:

Let us now write a template function for a component which writes the name and type of the component and, if the given component is a composite, also does the same recursively for all subcomponents.

First of all we have to define the template function in the model.

To open the template function with the template editor, just double click in the Project Explorer. Use the Link with Editor tool (see Chapter 2.10.1 Link with Editor) to easily locate the template function in the project explorer.

In line 1 we write out the component name and its type name. In line 2 we iterate over all aggregated components, but only if the component is of type Composite (type cast). In this context we call the template function asText recursively for all aggregated component.

We can now call our template function from a template. If there is a call to a function from another function space, the function space is explicitly stated using the notation myFunction@MyFunctionSpace.

Next, we create an instance of type Client containing composites and leaves. The output from the above template might look as follows.

TemplateLineFunction

The template line function behaves like a template but without the possibility to set contexts (see Chapter 8.3.9 Line Context, Column Context, Protected Context). The template line allows you to create simple single line texts as for name aspects (see Chapter 4.6.1 ch.actifsource.core.Class).

Consider a resource Person with two string literals firstName and LastName

Write a template function for person, which prints out the person's last name and first name.

Simply use the template line function as name aspect in the class Person.

Please not that it is also possible that the selector of the name aspect can be used directly as template line.

Defining the name aspect as seen above synthesizes the name.

Built-in functions

Actifsource provides lots of useful built-in functions.

Built-in functions on Any

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Any.

Built-in functions on Any List

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of Any.

Built-in functions on Resource

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Resource.

Built-in functions on List of Resource

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of Resource.

Built-in functions on Literal

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Literal.

Built-in functions on IntegerLiteral

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on IntegerLiteral.

Built-in functions on IntegerLiteralList

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of IntegerLiteral.

Built-in functions on BooleanLiteral

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on BooleanLiteral.

Built-in functions on List of Character

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of Character.

Built-in functions on List of Letter

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of Letter.

Built-in functions on TextLiteral

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on TextLiteral.

Built-in functions on StringLiteral

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on StringLiteral.

Built-in functions on Word

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Build.

Built-in functions on Guid

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Build.

Built-in functions on Build

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Build.

Built-in functions on LinkSelector

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on LinkSelector.

Built-in functions on File

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on File.

Accessing the model from within Java function

It is possible to access the model, other functions (see chapter 9.3 Function types), or even built-in functions (see chapter Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden. Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden.) from within Java functions.

Consider the following meta-model for the subsequent examples:

Model forward access

Let’s write a Java Function for Parent which returns only instances of type Child with names beginning with “A”.

Start by declaring a Java Function named filterChild as seen in Chapter 9.3.3.

For the model forward access use the selectProperty() function on the given resource where property is the property to select.

The subsequent filter function iterates over the relation Parent.child in the for-Statement via parent.selectChild(). Then we check if Child.name starts with “A” via child.selectName(). If the condition is fulfilled we add the filtered child to the child list. At the end we return the child list with the filtered children.

You might use the filter function in the selector of a template or in any other function. The following template only prints children with names starting with “A”.

Model backward access

Using the selector syntax accessing the model backwards is quite easy (see chapter 9.3.2 SelectorFunction) by the minus sign. Accessing the model backwards is also possible in the Java code.

For the model backward access use the static function selectToMeProperty() on the class which defines the relation.

Since we want to access the relation Parent.child backwards we have to choose the static method Parent.selectToMeChild() providing the actual child as parameter. As a result we get the parent of the given child.

Function access

Use the extension mechanism to access any of your functions from within Java Code.

Let’s assume that we have a function filterChild as shown in chapter 9.5.1 Model forward access. Let’s write a Java function filterChildReverse which returns a reverse list of the filtered children based on filterChild.

For the function access use the extension() function on the given resource with FunctionSpace.ITypeRefFunctions.class as parameter. FunctionSpace is the function space where your function is defined. TypeRef is FunctionContext.typeRef. The static property .class is given from Java and represents a class as an object.

Built-in function access

Use the extension mechanism to access built-in functions on resources (see chapter 9.4.1 Built-in functions on Any

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on Any.

Built-in functions on Any List

Actifsource provides the following built-in functions on List of Any.

Built-in functions on Resource) from within Java Code. Accessing built-in functions is done the same way as seen in the above chapter 9.5.3 Function access.

To write a function which returns the package and the simpleName of a child we can reuse the built-in functions package() and simpleName() For the built-in function access use the extension() function on the given resource with BuiltinResourceFunctions.class as parameter.

Code Snippets

Overview

Actifsource supports a special editor, the so-called Code Snippet editor, which allows the user to insert Actifsource resources as variables or functions into snippets of source code. Such a snippet of code is essentially a list of statements written in C-, where C- is a subset of the programming language ANSI C. A more precise definition of C- will be given below. Actifsource then provides the possibility to generate code in an arbitrary target language from these code snippets. This is achieved by parsing the input code according to the grammar of C- and applying either built-in or user-provided templates to the resulting parse tree. This parse tree is actually a model composed of temporary (i.e. non-persistent) resources. The following example shows a code snippet here the underlined identifiers are resources used as variables and functions:

Defining Code Snippet Relations

First, we will show how to add a code snippet relation to a class and define all the necessary properties of this relation. Such a relation enables the code snippet editor on instances of this class and allows a user to add code written in the chosen input language to the resource. Most of the examples and screenshots in the following are taken from the Code Snippet tutorial available at http://www.actifsource.com/tutorials/index.html. This tutorial is based on the following meta-model for statemachines and shows how to add code snippets for conditions on transitions and for actions taken when a condition is executed.

To add code snippets to resources of type MyClass, you have to edit MyClass in the resource editor, add a new property and choose the type StructuredCodeSnippetRelation for the relation in the Type Selection dialog:

In the resulting property, you have to create the following statements: subjectObjectCardinality, objectCardinality and name as for Own- or Association (see Section 4.3).

Additionally, we define the CodeSnippetRelationAspect as shown below with the class

ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.aspect.impl.StructuredCodeSnippetRelationAspect.

Language

Next, we choose an input language for the code snippet.

The input language is used to check the input code syntactically and to highlight keywords of the language. Furthermore, the input language defines which parser will be applied to the input code when generating output code from the code snippet. See Section 10.3 for a description of the available input languages.

Tokens

Finally, we need to define which resources will be available as functions and variables in the code snippet editor. This is done by creating one or more token statements referring to a RelationTokenProvider. The RelationTokenProvider allows the user to define a selector (cf. Section 8.3.12) which defines a list of resources. Additionally, it allows you to choose a tokenType which is either

• ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.TokenType.Variable for variables or
• ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.TokenType.Function for functions.

For variables you can define sub-tokens. The definition of sub-tokens instructs the Content Assist to propose all resources defined by the selector of the sub-token when you insert a '.' after a token. This means that sub-tokens can be used to insert resources as identifiers of fields in structs where the token corresponds to the struct and the sub-token to the field (for details see Section 0 below).

Input Languages

At the moment, the following languages are available: C-, CMinusCondition and Text.

C-

The language C- is a (proper) subset of the language ANSI C. It has the following restrictions:

1. C- supports no declarations (of variables, functions or types)

2. C- does not support the use of pointers and addresses

3. C- does not support type casts

4. C- does not support conditional statements (Expression ? Expression : Expression). However, they can easily be replaced by equivalent if-statements.

5. The comma operators is not supported, i.e., expressions such as

   • X = 2, z = 42
   • Foo(x,(y=2,y)) are not valid.

6. Postfix and prefix increment and decrement operators (++,--) are not supported.

C- supports access to fields of structs. As identifiers for fields either variables or arbitrary identifiers are valid. The Content Assist provides proposals for fields of structs if the variable definitions are created accordingly (see Section 10.4.1 ).

C- knows the following list of keywords: break, else, switch, return, continue, for, default, do, if, while, until, case.

Furthermore, the language knows the following operators:

• Infix-Operators { ||,  &&, |, ^, &, ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, <<, >>, +,  -, *,  /, %}
• Prefix-Operators { !, ~, +, -}
• Assignment-Operators {=, *=, /= , %=, +=, -= , <<= , >>= , &=, ^= , |=}

CminusCondition

A code snippet with CMinusCondition allows the user to input a conditional expression as in ANSI C (e.g. a relational or equality expression) while the same restrictions apply as for C- (details see Section 10.3.1). Such an expression can then be used for example as the condition in an if-statement.

Text

Text allows the user to insert arbitrary text with resources added as either variables or functions. This language should only be used if C- is too restrictive and validation of the input code is not required. The input code is syntactically not validated[^1] and the resulting parse tree is very simple:

Code Snippet Editor

The code snippet editor is available in the resource editor for any property of type StructuredCodeSnippetRelation. The editor supports multi-line input. It highlights keywords and comments according to the language property of the StructureCodeSnippetRelation. You can inspect the definition of the input language by CTRL+Left-Click on the chosen language:

This opens the chosen language in the resource editor and allows you to browse the properties such as keywords and style of comments of the language:

Content Assist

By using CTRL+Space in the code snippet editor you can as usual call the Content Assist. The Content Assist will show you all available resources to insert as functions and variables. The set of available resources is defined by the property token on the corresponding StructuredCodeSnippetRelation (see Section10.2). Inserted resources are underlined with blue color.

• Structures The StructuredCodeSnippetRelation supports the definition of complex and nested data types such as structs by defining a set of subtokens for a token. After inserting an instance of a token into the code snippet editor followed by a '.' (struct field access in C-), the Content Assist will propose the list of all resources defined by the selectors of its sub-tokens.

Consider for example the following meta-model:

Furthermore, we consider a StructuredCodeSnippetRelation on class A with the following definition of tokens:

We can now create a resource a1 of type A and insert code into the code snippet editor. When calling the Content Assist after inserting b1 it proposes the list c1, c2 (available through the Selector B.c) and d1 (available through the Selector B.d). See first screenshot below.

It is not possible to define structures recursively. Thus, you have to explicitly define the whole structure to the desired (finite) depth if it is self-referential.

Validation and Errors

The syntax of the input code in the code snippet editor is continuously validated. Syntax errors are shown by underlining the errors in the code and adding an error description to the Model Inconsistencies view:

Code Generation

In this section, we will show how to generate code in an arbitrary target language from code snippets. As explained in the introduction of this chapter, the input code of a code snippet is parsed by a parser that depends on the chosen input language (e.g. C- or Text). From the resulting parse tree, Actifsource generates a model that is composed of temporary resources. The meta-model for parse trees of the language C- is available at http://www.actifsource.com/manuals/index.html. The parse tree for unvalidated input (Text) can be found in Section 10.3.3.

To generate output files from these temporary models, we can apply code templates or template functions to these temporary resources, i.e., the temporary resources behave in exactly the same way as persistent resources except that they are not shown in the resource browser (Project Explorer) and are deleted when the session ends (e.g. the project or the workspace is closed). To use the content of code snippets in templates, you can either use the built-in TemplateFunctions (see Section 10.5.1) or write your own templates or template functions by modifying the built-in templates or writing them from scratch. The behavior of the built-in template functions can be customized by overwriting the way names of variables and functions are created (see Section Overwrite Variable and Function Names (Name Provider) below).

Built-in Template Functions

Actifsource provides the following built-in template functions which are defined on resources of type ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.element.CodeSnippet:

• codeSnippetToST: generates Structured Text from a CodeSnippet with input language CMinus or CMinusCondition.
• codeSnippetToC: generates C code from a CodeSnippet with input language CMinus or CMinusCondition.
• codeSnippetToText: generates code from a CodeSnippet with input language Text (unvalidated code).
• codeSnippetToFormattedC: generates formatted C code (HTML) from a CodeSnippet with input language CMinus or CMinusCondition (the actual code is the p)
• codeSnippetToVHDL: generates VHDL code from a generates C code from a CodeSnippet with input language CMinus or CMinusCondition

For all the above template functions, the names of variables and functions in the output code are generated by calling the function simpleName@BuiltIn on the corresponding resource.

Overwrite Variable and Function Names (Name Provider)

Generating the names of variables and functions by calling simpleName@BuiltIn, is in practice not always sufficient to generate code that meets all the requirements (the requirements on the naming could depend on naming conventions of the target language or names of variables could depend on the context in which the corresponding resource is used). For these cases, Actifsource provides more flexible template functions which takes a Literal of type ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.parsetree.template.NameProvider as an additional parameter:

• codeSnippetToSTwithNameProvider

• codeSnippetToCwithNameProvider

• codeSnippetToText

• codeSnippetToFormattedC

• codeSnippetToVHDL

Apart from the generation of function and variable names, these templates have exactly the same behavior as the corresponding template functions from the section above.

The additional parameter to this functions can be used to store additional context information necessary to generate the names and to overwrite the functions used to generate the names, namely variableName@TokenToName and functionName@TokenToName. These two functions take a parameter of type Resource (the resource corresponding to the variable resp. function) and generate the name by calling NameProvider.variableName@TokenToName resp. NameProvider.functionName@TokenToName:

The Code Snippet tutorial available at http://www.actifsource.com/tutorials/index.html show how to implement a NameProvider by guiding you step-by-step through an example.

Implement a custom NameProvider

In general, one can implement and use a NameProvider as follows:

1. Write a LiteralAspect (e.g. MyNameProviderLiteralAspect) in Java which implements ch.actifsource.core.model.aspects.impl.IGenericLiteralAspect<MyNameProviderLiteralAspect>.

2. Create your own resource of type Literal (e.g. MyNameProvider) which extends ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.parsetree.template.NameProvider:

3. Create a Java interface (e.g. IMyNameProvider) which provides the members needed to manage and store the context information needed by the NameProvider.

4. Create a FunctionSpace (e.g. MyNameFunctions) which extends TokenToName with a FunctionContext for the newly created Literal type (e.g. MyNameProvider). Create the two functions variableName and functionName with exactly the same signature as corresponding functions in the TokenToName.

   

   

5. Write a JavaFunctions (e.g. createMyNameProvider) that generates an instance of the newly created Java interface (e.g. IMyNameProvider).

   

6. In the template where the function to<Language>withNameProvider is used, call the newly created JavaFunction (createMyNameProvider) and call to<Language>withNameProvider with the output of the JavaFunction.

Display Code Snippets in Diagrams

Since the parse trees created from the input code of a code snippet are temporary resources, they are only visible for the code generator. To use the content of code snippets in diagrams, Actifsource provides template functions which allow you to display the code in diagrams:

• displayCodeSnippet
• displayCodeSnippetSingleLine

These TemplateFunctions show the unprocessed code as it is entered by the user in the code snippet editor. Both functions are defined on resources of type ch.actifsource.codesnippet.metamodel.element.CodeSnippet. An example application of these functions can be found in the Installing Actifsource](/tutorials/\20_enterprise/60_code-snippet) .

Java API

Select-Fassade

Select Functions for Property

Select Functions for Statement

Select Functions for Class

Select Functions for Resource

Select Functions for Extendable

Select Functions for (Resource, Property)

Select Functions for Package

Select Functions for Resource Scope

Additional Select Functions

Update-Fassade

Context Sensitive Help

Overview

In this section we will show how to set up the context sensitive help system. The Actifsource context sensitive help is integrated into the Eclipse Platform help system.

As a very simple example, let us define a help system for the following meta-model. This example allows to show help information about the Class A, B and BaseAB, and the respective instances A1 and B1.

First, we create the help file “ClassDocument.html” which contains all the help information and which defines the link targets for the context sensitive help.

Table of Contents

The table of contents (toc) contains a collection of topics for display inside the Eclipse help system. The topics here unlike in the context sensitive help are not bound to a context. For the detailed information on the supported features (Topics, Link and Anchor), see the Eclipse documentation

Now we create a HelpSystem resource in Actifsource: “ExampleHelpSystem”. Let us add a table of contents which has its contents statically defined as xml file: “StaticTableOfContents”. It has two properties:

• primary: If true: The table of contents is displayed as a book within the Eclipse help.
• file: The location of the toc xml file.

For editing the toc xml file, you can use the Eclipse specific editor, or edit it directly in an xml editor.

The toc xml file consist of a root xml element “toc” having an attribute “label” and containing nested “topic” elements. A “topic” element has the two xml attributes:

• label: The label to display for the topic.
• href: The location of the html File. The link providing anchors.

Now we create a toc file (TableOfContentsFile.xml) with the following topics and nested topics.

To open the Eclipse help system choose Help -> Help Contents. Select the ‘Actifsource Help Sample’ and expand the topics and you will see the following.

Help Context

Context sensitive help is a mechanism for linking a Resource to a specific help topic. For the detailed information on the supported features (Context, Topics and Commands), see the Eclipse documentation.

The information, which defines the different contexts and how they are linked to a topic, is stored in a help context xml file. When triggering the context sensitive help, the defined contexts are matched against the currently selected resource in the following order (most specific to least specific):

• Matching of the instance by its GUID (instance match)
• Matching of a resource by the GUID of its class (direct class match), and it super-classes (indirect class match).

You can edit the help context xml file directly or you using the Eclipse specific editor. A context xml entry has the two attributes:

• id: The GUID of the Resource to associate the help.
• merge: If true, also the topics of less specific contexts than this context are shown. If false, the topics of less specific context matches are omitted.

A topic entry in the xml file has the attributes:

• label: The label displayed for the topic.
• href: The location of the html file. The link providing anchors.

Now we create a help context file (HelpContextfile.xml) with the following contexts and topics.

The content sensitive help can be opened by selecting a Resource via any Actifsource editor and pressing ‘F1’.

All related topics started from the selected Resource (A1) via his types (from specific to generic type) are merged together. If only a single context matches the currently selected resource (setting the “merge” flag to false), then the html content is immediately shown inside the Eclipse help view.

Generic Export Wizard

Overview

In this section we will show how to export any build config to the file system. As a very simple example, let us define a generic template wizard to export the build config ‘TestBuildConfig’.

Generic Template Wizard

You can start the export sequence via the context menu in the project explorer.

Select the generic export wizard to continue the export.

Select the Test-Generic-Template-Wizard to continue the export.

Preselecting a project scope and output folder inside the workspace or file system to complete the exporting sequence.

After importing any errors and infos are shown in the info-Page.

Code Generator

Overview

Click on GUID

Eclipse Builder

Working with GCC

Installing Actifsource

Overview

Part I Preparation

Part II Install the Actifsource Plugin

Part III Switch to the Actifsource Perspective

Simple Service

Overview

• Create a new actifsource Project
• Structure your models using Packages
• Create Domain Classes in a Generic Domain Model for a Simple Service Infrastructure consisting of Services, Service-Calls, Arguments and Types:

• Create a Specific Domain Model using your own domain-specific type system
• Use Content Assist to create new domain-specific types or insert existing domain-objects

…

Part I: Create a new actifsource Project

• Enable the actifsource perspective
• Create and setup a new actifsource project “SimpleService”
• Familiarize yourself with the basic structure of an actifsource project

Create a new actifsource Project

Create and Setup a new actifsource Project “SimpleService”

Part II: Create a Generic Domain Model

• Setup an appropriate package structure
• Create a new diagram to model the generic domain model using generic classes and relations

Setup an Appropriate Package Structure

Create a new Diagram to Model the Generic Domain Model

Add Generic Classes

Add Generic Relations

Composition Relations

Association Relations

Adjust Cardinalities

Part III: Create a Specific Domain Model

• Create a package to store specific classes
• Create specific domain objects based on the generic domain model

Create a Package to Store Specific Domain Objects

Create Specific Domain Objects

Part IV: Use Code Templates to Generate Specific Code

• Create a generator template
• Enable Java functions for templates
• Write generic code based on the generic domain model and generate code on the fly

Create a Generator Template

Write Generic Code Based on the Generic Domain Model

Complex Service

Overview

• Prepare a new actifsource Project as seen in the Actifsource Tutorial – Simple Service

• Learn how to extract Java Functions from template code to cope with complex situations
  

• Edit Java Functions

• Learn about advanced Context Operations in the Template Editor

• Learn about Function Spaces and how to place functions

• Use built-in functions
  

• Generate code for specific folders

• Copy template code with its Context

Part I: Preparation