The Visual Language Desk (VLDesk) system allows users to build visual environments. Based on the
eXtended Positional Grammars (XPG)
formalism and on the XpLR parsing methodology, the VLDesk system includes an integrated set of tools for the development
of visual environments and supports the visual language developer in all the phases of the development process.
It supports the implementation of a visual language by assisting the language designer in defining the graphical objects, the syntax and the semantics of the language with an incremental development. The final result of the generation process consists of an integrated environment comprising a visual editor and a compiler for the defined visual language.
VLDesk has been used to implement a large variety of VLs such as UML diagrams, ER diagrams, Petri nets and has reached a high level of automation. VLDesk embeds YACC as a compiler generator. Therefore, the compiler of the generated visual environment is based on an efficient LR parser.
Moreover, VLDesk was extended to support the generation of visual metaCASE workbench. The visual metaCASE workbench allows designers to generate visual-oriented workbenches for the analysis and design phases.
These tools are recognized as useful means to strengthen and support a whole phase of the software process software because they provide designers with powerful visual environments, which facilitate editing and manipulation of visual models.
Information about visual languages and grammar formalism are presented in the following sections:
Demos:
It supports the implementation of a visual language by assisting the language designer in defining the graphical objects, the syntax and the semantics of the language with an incremental development. The final result of the generation process consists of an integrated environment comprising a visual editor and a compiler for the defined visual language.
VLDesk has been used to implement a large variety of VLs such as UML diagrams, ER diagrams, Petri nets and has reached a high level of automation. VLDesk embeds YACC as a compiler generator. Therefore, the compiler of the generated visual environment is based on an efficient LR parser.
Moreover, VLDesk was extended to support the generation of visual metaCASE workbench. The visual metaCASE workbench allows designers to generate visual-oriented workbenches for the analysis and design phases.
These tools are recognized as useful means to strengthen and support a whole phase of the software process software because they provide designers with powerful visual environments, which facilitate editing and manipulation of visual models.
Information about the development process and the generation of a visual enviroment using the VLDesk system
are showed in the following sections:
- Main features of VLDesk
- The architecture of the system
- The Symbol Editor
- The Grammar Editor
- The Visual Production Editor
- The Visual Programming Environment
Information about visual languages and grammar formalism are presented in the following sections:
Demos: