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Diagramming Tool Demonstrator
A diagram editor was the system model chosen for testing the components of PLASMA. The tool allows a user to create and edit UML diagrams and it is hoped that it will eventually become the front end to the PLASMA tool set.
Although, the demonstrator has been developed through a process of Incremental Development, it is not yet powerful enough to hold and modify a representation of itself (known as "Going Critical").
Modeling the Demonstrator involved satisfying requirements for several domains such as Model Management, Components, Symbols, HCI and Printing. In addition, it required the creation of a GUI giving the user simple but effective control of graphic object creation, selection, movement and editing. Diagram navigation, appearance and layout of windows and menus were also dealt with. The larger domains have over 40 active objects each.
During development several significant challenges were researched and overcome. These included bridge building and mapping, initialisation, handling of polymorphic events and dealing with synchronous data access across domains.
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