[gmt-dev] The future of Fuut-je

["Ghica van Emde Boas" <emdeboas@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
We would like to start a discussion about how to evolve the Fuut-je tool
that is part of GMT.
In the recent months, quite a bit more documentation about Fuut-je has
become available, topped today by a UML architecture/design overview made by
Jorn Bettin. See the bottom of this mail for a list of links or go directly
to www.eclipse.org/gmt.

In addition, I made a 2 page Fuutje roadmap document that is intended as a
starter for discussion about Fuut-je's future. To spark the discussion right
now, I am copying the salient parts of the document here:

The first question to answer is why we would like to maintain and develop
Fuut-je while there is also the EMF tool that is available and supported
with much more power than we ever can afford for Fuut-je. My points are:
·	Ease of use.
·	Extensibility of the tool itself by the users
·	Use it as a platform meta-level generation tool
·	Adaptability of the code generation templates
·	Generate applications for any kind of environment

Proposal:
Take the batch facilities of Fuut-je and put this into a separate package,
together with all modules that could run with it. This is a part of Fuut-je
that can run independently of Swing, where you are still able to load/save
models and to generate code. This will result an a headless version of
Fuut-je. :-( (The head is the most beautiful part of a “fuut”, Dutch for
“great crested grebe”).

Make the configuration files, batch scripts and template set descriptors
into XML based files and develop an EMF application to handle these
configurations and to start/stop the headless version of Fuut-je.

In the meantime we can start talking about the dead wood in the tool model
and refactor it without breaking the existing templates. And do it.

Start talking about how the tool-model can be split in a core part and
additional aspect models to cover the platform specific attributes.

Develop aspect weaving of models.

Develop a SWT GUI for Fuut-je.

Somewhere during this process, make the tool model into an EMF model which
will make it based on Ecore.
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Questions, critique or suggestions are welcome.

Jorn's UML overview of Fuutje:
http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/gmt-home/doc/fuut/de
sign/index.htm
The roadmap discussion document:
http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/gmt-home/doc/fuut/Fu
utje-roadmap.doc
The making of the GMT FAQ, a simple model-driven application made with
Fuutje.
http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/gmt-home/doc/faq/gmt
-faq.pdf
Ghica's Fuutje architecture overview:
http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/gmt-home/doc/fuut/fu
ut-architecture.pdf

Regards,
Ghica van Emde Boas
Bronstee.com Software & Services b.v.
e-mail: emdeboas@xxxxxxxxxxxx,
tel: +31 23 5474422,
or: +31 6 53368747 (mobile)
fax: +31 23 5473347