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4.1.4 Synchronization
Layout can go a long way toward making diagrams more readable and can even
convey semantic information. Keep in mind that diagrams represent a view of the
underlying model. In the case of large, complex models, it's often best to have
multiple diagrams, or views, of the model. You can use filters to accomplish these
views, as mentioned earlier, or the views can be distinct diagram instances that
the Practitioner creates. The question of synchronicity comes up frequently at
this point because sometimes we want the diagram to update automatically
based on changes to the underlying model, sometimes we want changes to be
made only manually, and sometimes we want a hybrid approach in which ele-
ments on the diagram should update but no new elements should be added. We
explore synchronization options in GMF in Section 11.4.2, “Synchronized.”
4.1.5 Shortcuts
Toward the goal of creating specific views of our model, we often need to create
shortcuts, or aliases, of model elements on diagrams that are essentially imported
from another diagram or model. Support for shortcuts on diagrams is common, as
is the capability to have more than one notation element represent the same under-
lying domain model element. We explore these options as we develop our sample
diagrams. Shortcuts are supported in diagrams generated with GMF and are cov-
ered in Section 11.4.2, “Contains Shortcuts To and Shortcuts Provided For.”
Before GMF, many had undertaken the task of binding the model aspect of the
GEF's Model-View Controller (MVC) architecture to an EMF model. An IBM
Redbook was written [43], a sample was provided by the GEF project, and
numerous commercial and academic institutions implemented solutions, some of
which included a generative component. GMF came about as the result of this
need for an easier way to develop graphical editors using GEF and an underly-
ing EMF model.
Today GMF consists of two main components: a runtime and a tooling
framework. The runtime handles the task of bridging EMF and GEF while pro-
viding a number of services and Application Programming Interfaces (API) to
allow for the development of rich graphical editors. The tooling component pro-
vides a model-driven approach to defining graphical elements, diagram tooling,
and mappings to a domain model for use in generating diagrams that leverage
the runtime.
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