Support integration with standards-compliant UML tool

[PaulLotz]

Support LabVIEW-UML integration.  Integration means supporting code generation from models and reverse engineering to models.  The UML tool must support the latest UML specification from OMG.  (This includes the specifications for interoperability.)

Other considerations when selecting a UML tool should include:

UML features and ease of use of the tool.

Support of SysML.

Integration with version control.

Additional features of the tool.

Cost of a license.

Size of user base.

[Jervin Justin]

Hi Paul,

We just launched a new branch of the NI Idea Exchange to foster ideas for LabVIEW Add-ons. The intent was to create a place for LabVIEW Add-on developers (both NI R&D and developers in the community) to find ideas that matter to the community.

This is part of our ongoing effort to enable LabVIEW developers to productize LabVIEW code. Some of the other things we’ve done this year were adding Licensing & Activation for 3^rd Parties, launching the Compatible with LabVIEW Program and the LabVIEW Tools Network.

We’ve identified your particular idea as one that could potentially be made into an Add-on and would like to move it to this new Idea Exchange so that Add-on developers can easily find it. Would this be okay with you?

Thanks!

[PaulLotz]

Yes, that seems like a good idea.

[shb]

There is a StarUML plugin from AddQ (not only for G#).

[PaulLotz]

Thanks for the suggestion.  StarUML, unfortunately, is not compliant even with the UML 2.0 specification and, moreover, it is a dead project so it never will be.  Since StarUML is not an active project I would consider using it a certain dead end.

[ClaudioH]

Hi, instead select an UML tool to use, try to use XMI file.

Many UML tools support XMI and it can be used to generate LabVIEW code.

I have an academic prototype that generates LabVIEW class from a class diagram.

Cheers.

[PaulLotz]

Well, XMI was part of the original UML specification, so in principle all tools support it.  (In practice, inter-tool compatibilty with XMI is not exactly perfect.)

It may very well be that the guts of the task will be to provide round-trip integration with XMI.  From the user point of view, though, this is just the method to support integration with a standards-compliant UML tool.

[PaulLotz]

For the record, we think a good tool choice would be Enterprise Architect. (See EA.)  We use this tool effectively in many aspects of our software engineering process.

[PaulLotz]

OK, integration with a tool will (possibly in the form of a profile) will also require defining rules specific to the language.

A good example is that LabVIEW has a cluster.  To model this in EA, I use a class and give it a <<cluster>> stereotype.  By convention that means we can't give it methods or extend it.  Integration with a tool would formalize this.

For the record, creating a types file for basic primitives is easy in EA and I have done this for a basic set of LabVIEW types.