Java Reference
In-Depth Information
4.2.1 GMF Runtime Component
GMF has two runtime options. The first is commonly referred to as just the run-
time; the second is referred to as the “lite” runtime. The former provides exten-
sive capabilities for extension, and the latter focuses on providing a small
installation footprint and is largely generative. These two runtimes represent two
distinct philosophies of how to provide a diagramming runtime. Even more fun-
damentally, perhaps, they illustrate two approaches to Model-Driven Software
Development (MDSD) in general.
The full runtime was originally developed as an extensible framework for
creating diagrammatic editors on Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) and GEF.
This runtime was originally designed and developed to provide rich extensibility
options for clients. It includes a rich set of APIs, extension-points, a service layer,
and many enhancements to the underlying EMF and GEF runtimes. The full run-
time can be used with or without the tooling and generation features of GMF.
The default target of the tooling and generation component is the full runtime.
Details on the GMF runtime, its APIs, and extension-points are described in
Chapter 10, “Graphical Modeling Framework Runtime.” Although it's not nec-
essary to understand the inner workings of the GMF runtime during the initial
phase of development using the tooling and generation component, you will
eventually need to provide functionality that goes beyond what is generated.
The GMF Lite Runtime
Whereas the full runtime provides a rich published API, numerous extension-
points, a service provider layer, and more, the lite runtime is just the opposite.
The motivation for the lite runtime was to provide as much of a generated imple-
mentation for diagramming as possible, with a minimal runtime code base. The
current implementation of the lite runtime consists of a single runtime plug-in,
with a single extension-point for supporting diagram shortcuts.
To provide compatibility with GMF diagrams created for the full runtime,
the lite runtime uses the same notation model. In theory, a diagram produced
with an editor generated using the lite runtime option will open in an editor gen-
erated to the full runtime. Some missing features in the lite runtime prevent full
interoperability, but it does work, to an extent.
To target the lite runtime when using the tooling, you must first deselect the
Utilize Enhanced Features of the GMF Runtime
and
Use IMapMode
options
when creating the generator model. When generating diagram code from the gen-
erator model, use the
Generate Pure-GEF Diagram Code
option.
The lite runtime requires a single
org.eclipse.gmf.runtime.lite
plug-
in for deployment, along with its dependencies, which include the Eclipse plat-
form core, EMF, GEF, EMF Transaction, and tabbed properties view. Although
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