[News.eclipse.technology.mddi] Re: Accelo

[Etienne Juliot <etienne.juliot@xxxxxxx>]

Hi,

From the eclipse modeling project page :
- Java Emitter Templates (JET) : provides code generation framework & 
facilities that are used by EMF.
- Model Driven Development integration (MDDi) : produces an extensible 
framework and exemplary tools dedicated to integration of modeling tools 
in Eclipse.

Regarding MDDi, we can imagine the following schema :

   -----------------       -----------------
   | external tool |       | external tool |
   |  -----------  |       |  -----------  |
   |  model based  |       |   text based  |
   -----------------       -----------------
         |                        |
         |                        |
        QVT                     Acceleo
         |                        |
         |                        |
  -----------------------------------------
  |             ModelBus                  |
  -----------------------------------------
                  |
                  |
  -----------------------------------------
  |               EMF                     |
  -----------------------------------------
                  |
                  |
                 JET
                  |
                  |
  -----------------------------------------
  |      Eclipse infrastructure           |
  -----------------------------------------

So, Acceleo would be used by projects and products which aren't inside 
Eclipse to create generative modules.
Theses externals tools can be in Java technology, but also in C, Perl, 
PHP, Cobol ...

Basically, developers from these external tools won't be necessary 
familiar with Java or JSP syntax. So it may be difficult for them to 
create adapters for Mddi/eclipse integration.
Acceleo provides a minimalist syntax : only "if" and "for" are provided. 
So it is quick to catch up with Acceleo and write a small Mddi adapter 
if you are not a JSP or Java expert.

So the idea with Acceleo in Mddi is to ease the creation of glue with 
non model based tools, and enabling non-Java expert to contribute easily.


Sébastien Demathieu a écrit :
> Hello all,
>
> I agree that we need to make use of a code generation solution in MDDi 
> (to generate bus adapters from tool descriptors, for instance), like 
> many other Eclipse projects do.
>
> There is a project in the Eclipse Modeling top-level project that 
> focuses on codegen: EMFT. It includes JET and the JET editor and I would 
> have look at these frameworks at a first stage. Other frameworks from 
> GMT may also provide alternatives although I do not know all of these.
> Given that we are all in the Modeling project, I think it is important 
> to leverage existing solutions rather than re-inventing the wheel.
>
> As for Accello, I am wondering how the tool relates to JET (or other 
> Eclipse projects) and if it can provide a valuable contribution to the 
> Modeling project in a broader context.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sébastien