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Home » Modeling » Graphiti » Transient (run time only) graphics in Graphiti?
Transient (run time only) graphics in Graphiti? [message #723523] Thu, 08 September 2011 18:18 Go to next message
Hernan Gonzalez is currently offline Hernan GonzalezFriend
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Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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In Graphiti all drawing (from the programmer point of view) corresponds to a Graphic Algorithm, to be included (and persisted) in a Diagram and in some business object: any color, polygon, line, etc "lives in the diagram universe".

Suppose that I want to add some runtime graphical behaviour to my editor, so that some events produce some graphical output (perhaps changing the color of a Shape, perhaps drawing some arrow, circle, etc not necessarily tied to any shape), so that this is NOT linked to my Pictogram hierarchy and my business objects (in particular, this is not to be persisted, it only makes sense inside the running ide.)

(I believe this would be similar to what the editor does, eg when drawing a connection with different color/style while creating it: this style/color does not live in the "diagram universe")

Is there some standard approach to do this, or some example to get ideas?

I understand that Graphiti hides GEF, and won't happily let me touch it directly. Would this also apply to Draw2D?
Re: Transient (run time only) graphics in Graphiti? [message #723530 is a reply to message #723523] Thu, 08 September 2011 18:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jos Warmer is currently offline Jos WarmerFriend
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You can add shapes only only to the Diagram, without them necessarily pointing to a business object. By default these shapes-only will be saved and shown again when you re-open the diagram.

I have not seen any option to draw anything outside the Diagram hierarchy, nor do I think this is a good idea. I can think of two ways of achieving what you need:

  • You could try to get a handle on the Graphiti save() and remove the unwanted shapes before saving. Note however, that the shapes will then dissappear from the open diagram as well (if this is kept open).
  • Alternatively, you can save the shapes with an additional self-defined property and remove these shapes when the diagram is read from file.

Jos
Re: Transient (run time only) graphics in Graphiti? [message #723544 is a reply to message #723530] Thu, 08 September 2011 18:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Hernan Gonzalez is currently offline Hernan GonzalezFriend
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Jos Warmer wrote on Thu, 08 September 2011 15:30

I have not seen any option to draw anything outside the Diagram hierarchy, nor do I think this is a good idea.


Thanks, but what I'm pointing out is rather to draw directtly using Draw2D. For example, when I click a shape in the editor, a dashed line appears around it. I guess (I may be wrong) that this dashed line is not part of the shape, (when this line appears visually and disappears, it does not hit the pictogram hierachy), this line does not live in the Diagram but rather in other layer, in the editor itself (indeed, it's not persisted).
(no subject) [message #723747 is a reply to message #723544] Fri, 09 September 2011 10:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michael Wenz is currently offline Michael WenzFriend
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There's a hook for visualizing the selection state or hoven-state
differently. There's methods in the DiagramTypeProvider to influence that; I
would need to look up the names...

But these hooks are not capable of influencing the standard visualization.
So, I don't have a really good idea beyond what Jos already proposed.

Michael


"Hernan" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:j4b2gl$gjl$1@news.eclipse.org...

Jos Warmer wrote on Thu, 08 September 2011 15:30
> I have not seen any option to draw anything outside the Diagram hierarchy,
> nor do I think this is a good idea.


Thanks, but what I'm pointing out is rather to draw directtly using Draw2D.
For example, when I click a shape in the editor, a dashed line appears
around it. I guess (I may be wrong) that this dashed line is not part of the
shape, (when this line appears visually and disappears, it does not hit the
pictogram hierachy), this line does not live in the Diagram but rather in
other layer, in the editor itself (indeed, it's not persisted).
Re: (no subject) [message #725549 is a reply to message #723747] Thu, 15 September 2011 06:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Murthy Bhat is currently offline Murthy BhatFriend
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Hi,

I have a small working solution for a similar case. My scenario had a emf based domain model which can have basic information on the diagram model like <x,y,width,height & color>. I have attached a parser to my specific file extension using the extension "org.eclipse.emf.ecore.extension_parser".

So whenever the resourceset is created/loaded with my domain model, I manually create a parallel resource with the graphical model within the resourceset. After linking the diagram model with the resource, it works like any other graphiti editor. While saving, however i ensure that i only save the domain related information with updated graphical properties.

Hope it helps.

Best Regards,
Murthy
Re: (no subject) [message #725635 is a reply to message #725549] Thu, 15 September 2011 11:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Hernan Gonzalez is currently offline Hernan GonzalezFriend
Messages: 188
Registered: October 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Murthybhat wrote on Thu, 15 September 2011 03:55
Hi,

I have a small working solution for a similar case. My scenario had a emf based domain model which can have basic information on the diagram model like <x,y,width,height & color>. I have attached a parser to my specific file extension using the extension "org.eclipse.emf.ecore.extension_parser".

So whenever the resourceset is created/loaded with my domain model, I manually create a parallel resource with the graphical model within the resourceset. After linking the diagram model with the resource, it works like any other graphiti editor. While saving, however i ensure that i only save the domain related information with updated graphical properties.


Not exactly what I was looking for here, but interesting nonetheless, and related to other issues I've been experiencing and I've been thinking. My scenario is very near this one: the persistent graphic information is (almost) implicitly contained in the domain model, so it's actually redundant to save the diagram: it would be enough to save the model and to recreate the diagram elements at loading (invoking the Add features). I still didnt' implement it in this way, because it makes little difference for me (apart from file size; I doubt if would make a speed difference, to load the diagram as a xml file or to recreate it with the Add features). However, perhaps I end taking that path, it makes more sense (for example, I don't really like to store some graphical details as Font, colors, etc; it should be the software -which could change- who decides that)

I know that Graphiti is designed to support a non redundant scenario (the diagram have more information: eg, position and size, connections shapes; and also the diagram could represent a partial view of the model; eg a partial UML graph). But perhaps this scenario should also be considered (at least as an item in the FAQ/HOwto).




[Updated on: Thu, 15 September 2011 14:36]

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Re: (no subject) [message #725698 is a reply to message #725635] Thu, 15 September 2011 14:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Hernan Gonzalez is currently offline Hernan GonzalezFriend
Messages: 188
Registered: October 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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@Murthybhat: I see now that you have several posts dealing with this kind of approach (ej1 ej2). I guess you managed to solve your issues? (in particular, the creation of connections; are you storing the bendpoints inside your model?)

I really think that this "transient diagram" approach should be (as a recipe or list of tips) in the docs or a wiki. I seems to put a new perspective on Graphiti.

[Updated on: Thu, 15 September 2011 14:39]

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Re: (no subject) [message #725868 is a reply to message #725698] Fri, 16 September 2011 02:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Murthy Bhat is currently offline Murthy BhatFriend
Messages: 159
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Hi Hernan,

Not much success with the connection thing yet. Still trying to get it working. But other things are working as expected. And yes, i store a list of points in my model.

Regards,
Murthy
Re: (no subject) [message #726168 is a reply to message #723747] Fri, 16 September 2011 17:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Hernan Gonzalez is currently offline Hernan GonzalezFriend
Messages: 188
Registered: October 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Michael Wenz wrote on Fri, 09 September 2011 07:48
There's a hook for visualizing the selection state or hoven-state
differently. There's methods in the DiagramTypeProvider to influence that; I
would need to look up the names...

But these hooks are not capable of influencing the standard visualization.
So, I don't have a really good idea beyond what Jos already proposed.


Now I see that the behaviour I'm looking for (purely display modifier, only runtime, not living in the pictogram world) is more conceptually akin to a graphiti Decorator: what I'd like to have is some type of decorator that, instead of placing an image on top of the figure, draws a border, or change the background, etc.
Re: (no subject) [message #727029 is a reply to message #726168] Tue, 20 September 2011 08:22 Go to previous message
Michael Wenz is currently offline Michael WenzFriend
Messages: 1931
Registered: July 2009
Location: Walldorf, Germany
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Currently we do not have something like that, but that sounds resonable.
Would you file an enhancement bugzilla?

Thanks,
Michael


"Hernan" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:j500bo$dqv$1@news.eclipse.org...

Michael Wenz wrote on Fri, 09 September 2011 07:48
> There's a hook for visualizing the selection state or hoven-state
> differently. There's methods in the DiagramTypeProvider to influence that;
> I would need to look up the names...
>
> But these hooks are not capable of influencing the standard visualization.
> So, I don't have a really good idea beyond what Jos already proposed.


Now I see that the behaviour I'm looking for (purely display modifier, only
runtime, not living in the pictogram world) is more conceptually akin to a
graphiti Decorator: what I'd like to have is some type of decorator that,
instead of placing an image on top of the figure, draws a border, or change
the background, etc.
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