Statechart development beyond WYSIWYG

  • Authors:

  • Steffen Prochnow;Reinhard Von Hanxleden

  • Affiliations:

  • Real-Time and Embedded Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany;Real-Time and Embedded Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany

  • Venue:
  • MODELS'07 Proceedings of the 10th international conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems
  • Year:
  • 2007

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Modeling systems based on semi-formal graphical formalisms, such as Statecharts, have become standard practice in the design of reactive embedded devices. Statecharts are often more intuitively understandable than equivalent textual descriptions, and their animated simulation can help to visualize complex behaviors. However, in terms of editing speed, project management, and meta-modeling, textual descriptions have advantages. As alternative to the standard WYSIWYG editing paradigm, we present an approach that is also graphical but oriented on the underlying structure of the system under development, and another approach based on a textual, dialect-independent Statechart description language. These approaches have been implemented in a prototypical modeling tool, which encompasses automatic Statechart layout. An empirical study on the usability and practicability of our Statechart editing techniques, including a Statechart layout comparison, indicates significant performance improvements in terms of editing speed and model comprehension compared to traditional modeling approaches.