Integrating Xtext and Sirius: Strategies and Pitfalls
- 1. Integrating Xtext and Sirius: Strategies and Pitfalls Cédric Brun (Obeo) – Jan Köhnlein (TypeFox)
- 2. Agenda ● Three modes of integration ○ Persisting the model using Xtext ○ References between Xtext and Sirius models ○ Embedding an Xtext editor in Sirius ● Conclusion
- 4. Diagram Model vs Semantic Model Sirius ProjectResourceSet foo.aird diagram model foo.flow semantic model by default persisted as XMIResources foo.xflow semantic model
- 6. Persist the Semantic Model with Xtext Sync through filesystem
- 7. Diagram Refresh Strategy ● Automatic Refresh (default) ○ lead to diagram re-init when the model is un-parseable ○ diagram content gets lost ● Setup a specific strategy to trigger the refresh
- 8. Grammar Adaptations ● Avoid errors when the user tries to save ● Not every string is an ID ○ Consider using STRING rule instead of ID in the grammar ● Lose grammar, strict validation ● Tools should create serializable elements by default ● Highlight offending elements in diagram
- 9. Concurrent Dirty States Prevent editing in the other syntax when one is dirty
- 11. Xtext and Sirius Models Combined Xtext and Sirius are aware of each others models Cross-references between them
- 12. EMF Cross-references ResourceSet foo.x XMI model bar.y Xtext model cross references XMI uses URIs: href=”<resource URI>#<fragment>” e.g. href=”bar.y#ab378f1789d1”
- 13. Names vs URIs I am giving this talk with Cédric. Name-based linking (Xtext) I am giving this talk with ECF2017#116. URI-based linking (Sirius) Resolution mechanism Coupling of resources Syntax errors Rename Suitability for users Differences
- 14. Models And Identities Editor foo.dsl ResourceSet baz.dsl foo.dsl Editor bar.dsl ResourceSet foo.dsl bar.dsl Project ResourceSet baz.dsl foo.dsl bar.dsl *.dsl Xtext Sirius
- 15. Make Sirius Refer to Xtext ● Implement an IFragmentProvider ○ make name (and type) part of the XMI-ID ● Implement Xtext support for *.aird files ○ allows Sirius to participate in Xtext rename refactoring ● Navigate to Xtext editor from the diagram ● Define fixed synchronization points ● Compare based on compare & merge instead of plain reload
- 16. Make Xtext Refer to Sirius/XMI ● Implement Xtext support for the XMI model ○ make elements referable from Xtext ○ make cross-links openable ○ participate in Xtext refactorings ● Navigate to Sirius editor from Xtext ● Rename on the Sirius side must trigger a rename refactoring in Xtext
- 17. Either way ● Cross-referencing will rely on the Xtext index ○ Xtext nature on project + build-automatically must be on ○ check the index with CTRL-SHIFT-F3 ● Dirty-state integration is tricky ○ Refs from Xtext are not updated correctly when Sirius model changes ○ Avoid Xtext rename refactoring when diagram has unsaved changes
- 18. Embedding an Xtext Editor into Sirius
- 19. Embedding Xtext XtextEmbeddedEditor + Custom properties widget Store Xtext model in a string-valued attribute
- 20. Requires Pretty Deep Integration ● Configuring XtextEmbededdEditor widget ● Syncing Transactions ● Using Sirius dirty state instead of the last-saved state ● Rename refactoring will be hard
- 21. Conclusion
- 22. You can integrate Xtext and Sirius ● Use EMF as the base of any kind of integration ● Basic level of integration is quite easy ● Deep integration can be tricky, keep an eye on ○ Linking cross-references ○ Using resource sets ○ Transactions ○ Consistency ● But in the end you’ll get a great tool mixing textual and graphical representations
- 23. Examples are online ● FowlerDSL: https://github.com/ObeoNetwork/Xtext-Sirius-integration/ ● Farming (Gemoc) : https://github.com/gemoc/farmingmodeling ● Flow: https://github.com/ObeoNetwork/Flow-Designer