1. Overview

ShapeChange is a Java tool that can be executed as a stand-alone application from the command line. ShapeChange can also be integrated in other Java applications, by adding the ShapeChange core and, optionally, the ShapeChange ea libraries as dependencies.

The software tool is provided with a configuration file that defines the ShapeChange workflow, including the format and location of the input file, log settings, and output parameters (format and output directory, among others).  When the tool is initialized, the appropriate model import facility is first called to read the application schema in UML (whether in EA repository, SCXML, or another format) into internal memory. The software then processes the model. The model can undergo a number of transformations before it is turned into one or more target representations. Finally, the processed model is output to the chosen target representation(s) as specified in the configuration file, and error, warning and informational messages are written to a log file. Before any transformer and target is executed for a given model, validators can be run to check the model content.

2. Package Overview

The ShapeChange software is modular:

  • The core module contains all the logic for executing a ShapeChange workflow. It contains the code for reading SCXML and XMI formatted UML models, model transformations, model validators, and most of the ShapeChange targets.

  • The ea module contains code that uses the automation interface of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect (EA), to read a UML model from an EA repository, and targets to create specific models in EA repositories.

  • The app module contains the main Java class for executing ShapeChange from the command line. It also contains the whole documentation, as well as all resources and code to create the complete distribution package.

Note
 ShapeChange defines a number of interfaces, which allow for the specification of additional input formats, transformations, validators, and targets. For further details, see the guide on how to extend ShapeChange.

The following diagram is an overview of the package dependencies within the ShapeChange core module:

image
Figure 1. ShapeChange core package overview

The package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core contains the main classes of ShapeChange.

The package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core.model is the main extension point on the input side. It specifies an interface for all sources of models that ShapeChange can process. Currently, three types of models supported:

  • Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect models accessed via the Enterprise Architect automation interface (requires the ShapeChange ea module, more details given below)

  • ShapeChange XML (SCXML) - an XML format that can be produced by the Model export target

  • XMI 1.0 / UML 1.3 models as exported by Rational Rose (Unisys exporter) or ArgoUML

    • NOTE: Support for XMI is out of active maintenance.

It is also possible to perform additional model transformations before the conversion to target representations, by implementing the de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core.transformation.Transformer interface. Available transformations are described in more detail here.

Note
 The de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core.model.Transformer interface was defined before work on the general transformation mechanism started. Nowadays, model transformations should be realized via the general mechanism.

The package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core.target is the main extension point on the output side. It specifies an interface for all output derived from models, e.g. XML schemas. These are described in more detail here.

The package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.core.modelvalidation contains the interface that model validators need to implement. They are described in more detail here.

In addition, there are helper packages for specific purposes, e.g. processing OCL constraints, using FOP in targets or for a graphical user interface to edit ShapeChange configuration parameters during runtime.

The following diagram is an overview of the package dependencies within the ShapeChange ea module:

image
Figure 2. ShapeChange ea package overview

Package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.ea.model contains the classes needed for reading a UML model from an Enterprise Architect repository.

The package de.interactive_instruments.shapechange.ea.target contains ShapeChange targets that write to an EA repository, e.g. an ArcGIS workspace model, or profile information.

Important
 In order to interact with Enterprise Architect repositories, an application needs to include both ShapeChange core and ShapeChange ea as dependencies. Furthermore, the application also needs to put the eaapi.jar needed by ShapeChange ea on the classpath. That library can be found in the Enterprise Architect installation directory. It is not allowed to distribute the library via a maven repository. However, it can be distributed as part of a packaged application - which is what the standalone ShapeChange distribution does.