Next: Motivation and Introduction
Next: Motivation and
Introduction
Published in: Proceedings, 12th IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages, Boulder, Colorado, USA, Sep. 3-6, 1996, IEEE Press, 1996, in press.
University of Hamburg,
Computer Science Department,
Vogt-Kölln-Str. 30, 22527 Hamburg, Germany
We describe the object-oriented editor GenEd supporting the design of specifications for visual notations. Prominent features of GenEd are (1) it is generic , i.e. domain-specific syntax and semantics are specified by users; (2) built-in parser for actual drawings, driven by formal specifications; (3) powerful reasoning capabilities about diagrams and their specification. GenEd's specification language is based on a fully formalized theory for describing visual notations. Three examples, place-transition petri nets, entity-relationship diagrams, and a small GIS application are presented.
Keywords--- Theory of visual languages, formal semantics, diagrammatical reasoning, description logics, visual editor, visual parsing, geographical information systems.