Implementation
MetaEdit and MetaEdit+
Both of these tools are fully-fledged metaCASE environments, in other words CASE tools
where the user can modify the method supported, or add completely new methods. Both
initially started as research prototypes, made by the MetaPHOR
research group at the University of Jyväskylä Department of Computer Science and Information Systems,
and both have been released as commercial products, available through MetaCase Consulting.
The main differences between the tools, and the main literature about each, are shown
below. There is a substantial amount of publications about the tools, roughly divided into
MetaEdit (1991-1994) and MetaEdit+ (1994-) as shown below. The articles here in general
represent the finished product well: there are other articles that were written around
1993-4 that point the way ahead, but whose ideas have been changed as the development
progressed.
Recently the environment has been augmented with better metamodeling support (graphical
modeling support), better integrity management within metamodels, better report generation
facilities and improved multi-user support. We have also implemented as research
prototypes an extensive hypertext and authoring tool (so called Linking Ability), a
process specification and management environment, a metamodeling environment for process
languages, and a process enactment environment. We are currently working on an extensive
reuse environment for both models and metamodels that support their classification,
archival, search and adaptation.
| MetaEdit |
MetaEdit+ |
| Single-user |
Multi-user |
| Single representation: Diagram |
Multi-representation: Diagram, Matrix, Table |
| Single method and many graphs per file, no linking between files |
Multiple methods and projects all interlinked, repository based |
| Single platform: Windows |
Multi-platform: Windows, Mac, Unix |
| Distributed metamodelling: separate programs for symbol definition and
compiling metamodels |
Integrated metamodelling: everything within one program |
| Graphical metamodelling, producing textual output which is compiled to
metamodel |
Form-based metamodelling, working directly on metamodel |
| Metametamodel |
 Smolander, K.,
"OPRR - A model for modeling systems development methods", Next Generation CASE
Tools, Tahvanainen and Lyytinen(Ed.), IOS Press, Amsterdam, pp. 224-239, 1992 |
Kelly, S., Tahvanainen,
V-P., Support for Incremental Method Engineering and MetaCASE, in Proceedings of the
fifth workshop on the next generation of CASE tools, B. Theodoulidis (ed.), Memoranda
Informatica 94-25, University of Twente, NL, pp. 140-148, 1994. Kelly, S., What's in a Relationship? On
Distinguishing Property Holding and Object Binding, in Proceedings of ISCO3, E. Falkenberg
et al. (eds.), Chapman & Hall, 1995.
GOPRR Description: research and implementation viewpoint |
| Comparisons and reviews |
 Marttiin, P., Rossi,
M., Tahvanainen, V.-P., Lyytinen, K., A comparative review of CASE
shells - a preliminary framework and research outcomes, Information & Management, 25,
pp. 11-31, 1993. |
Marttiin, P., Harmsen, F., Rossi, M., "A Functional Framework for
evaluating CAME environments: The Case of Maestro II/Decamerone and MetaEdit+
assessment", IFIP WG8.1/8.2 Working Conference on Principles of Method Construction
and Tool Support, Atlanta, USA, 26-28 August, 1996.  Tolvanen,
J.-P., K. Lyytinen,
P. Marttiin, M. Jarke,
K. Pohl, K. Weidenhaupt, CASE Environment Adaptability: Bridging the Islands of
Automation", Proceedings of the 8th Annual Workshop on Information Technologies and
Systems (WITS’98) (eds. S. March, J. Bubenko), Computer Science and Information
System Reports, TR-19, University of Jyväskylä, pp. 115-126, 1998.
Jarke, M., Pohl, K.,
Weidenhaupt, K., Lyytinen, K., Marttiin, P., Tolvanen, J.-P. & Papazoglou, M. 1998.
Meta Modeling: A Formal Basis for Interoperability and Adaptability. In B. Krämer &
M. Papazoglou (Eds.), Information Systems Interoperability, John Wiley Research Science
Press, 229-263.
 Finalist in Best Application Development
Tool, March 95
Review in Byte Magazine, August
96 |
MetaEdit
Smolander, K., Lyytinen, K., Tahvanainen,
V.-P., Marttiin, P., "MetaEdit --- A
Flexible Graphical Environment for Methodology Modelling", Advanced Information
Systems Engineering, Proceedings of the Third International Conference CAiSE'91,
Trondheim, Norway, May1991, Andersen et al (Ed.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 168--193,
1991
Rossi, M., CAME tools for MetaEdit, Proceedings of MetaCASE-95,
Sunderland University Press, January 5-7, 1995.
MetaEdit+
We have implemented a multi-tool, multi-user, multi-paradigm metaCASE environment
called MetaEdit+ (see figure) which uses a client-server architecture. The environment has
been implemented in VisualWorks Smalltalk using
the ArtBase object repository system and NEDT graphical programming environment. The environment
can run on all major platforms including UNIX, Windows, NT and Macintosh.
The clickable map of the architecture of the MetaEdit+ environment leads to the
individual components below. The publications relating to each component are a very rough
set only. For more information, see http://www.metacase.com/tools.html.
Architecture
Repository
MetaEdit+ uses the ArtBASE object store as the
underlying 'database' for its repository.
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
5)
Network
MetaEdit+ works over TCP/IP using sockets; it can also work without sockets, using
shared files. Heterogenous clients (different flavours of Windows and/or Unix) can
communicate seamlessly.
MetaEngine
The MetaEngine embodies both the GOPRR meta-metamodel (data
model) and the implementation of operations on this conceptual data, and also some common
functionality shared by several tools. It also handles all communication between tools and
clients, via the repository.
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
4, Section 4 & 4.1; Appendix 1 describes GOPRR)
Model Editing
Diagram Editor
Matrix Editor
Kelly, S., A Matrix Editor for a MetaCASE
Environment, in Information and Software Technology, vol. 36 no. 6, June 1994.
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
4, Section 5.2).
Kelly, S., Rossi, M.,
"Differences in Method Engineering Performance with Graphical and Matrix Tools: A
Preliminary Empirical Study", Proceedings of 2nd CAiSE/IFIP8.1 International Workshop
on Evaluation of Modeling Methods in Systems Analysis and Design, EMMSAD'97, June 16--17,
Barcelona, Spain, Siau et al (Ed.), 1997
Table Editor
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
4, Section 5.3).
Model Retrieval
Repository Browsers
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
4, Section 6.1).
Query Editor
Liu, H., A
Visual Approach to Querying the CASE Repository - A Requirements Analysis, in Proceedings
of the sixth Workshop on the next generation of CASE tools, G. Grosz (ed.), Jyväskylä,
Finland, pp. 143-160, June 1995.
Liu, H., A
Visual Interface for Querying a CASE Repository, in Proceedings of the 11th IEEE Symposium
on Visual Languages, V. Haarslev (ed.), Darmstadt, Germany, pp. 21-28, September 1995.
Liu H., On a Visual
Approach of Querying the CASE repository, Licentiate thesis, University of Jyväskylä,
Jyväskylä, 1996.
Report Editor
Kelly, S., "Towards a
Comprehensive MetaCASE and CAME Environment: Conceptual, Architectural, Functional and
Usability Advances in MetaEdit+", Ph.D. Thesis, Jyväskylä University, 1997 (Chapter
4, Section 7.3; Chapter 5, Section 3.3.2).
Tolvanen, J.-P., Kelly, S.,
"MetaEdit+ User's Guide", Technical Report, Department of Computer Science and
information Systems, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, 1995 (see also section 3.3.5
in online manual).
Model Linking & Annotation
Hypertext tools
Kaipala, J. (1997) In Proceedings of CAiSE '97, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, June
16--20, Vol. 1250 (Eds, Olivé, A. and Pastor, J. A.) Springer, Berlin, pp. 217--230.
Kaipala, J. (1997) In Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Incorporating
Hypertext Functionality Into Software Systems (HTF III), Hypertext '97 Conference(Eds,
Ashman, H. L., Balasubramanian, V., Bieber, M. and Oinas-Kukkonen, H.) Southampton, UK.
Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Hypermedia Functionality in
Modelling Tools, Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Incorporating
Hypertext Functionality into Software Systems (HTF '96), Ashman, H. et al (eds.)
Washington, USA, March 1996.
Debate Browser
Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Debate Browser - An
Argumentation Tool for MetaEdit+ Environment, Proceedings of the Seventh European Workshop
on the Next Generation of CASE Tools (NGCT '96), Crete, Greece, May 1996. (a)
Method Management
Graph, Object, Relationship, Role and Property Tools
Kelly, S., Lyytinen,
K., Rossi, M., MetaEdit+: A Fully Configurable
Multi-User and Multi-Tool CASE and CAME Environment, in Proceedings of the 8th
International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering, CAiSE'96, Heraklion,
Crete, Greece, May 1996, Constantopoulos et al. (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Lecture Notes in
Computer Science N:o 1080, Heidelberg, pp. 1-21, 1996.
Symbol Editor
For this and also for other tools mentioned above is more information available, see http://www.metacase.com/tools.html.
Home Page
Pages created by Steven Kelly. Last update
September 27, 1999 by Jouni Huotari.