We present ConfigModeler and VClipse, two domain-specific languages and corresponding Eclipse-based integrated development environments (IDEs) for product modeling on different levels of abstraction. VClipse supports the direct specification of objects and dependencies using VC's abstraction level in a textual language called VCML. VC objects and dependencies can be transferred to an SAP system using RFC or product data replication (PDR) via IDocs. It is also possible to extract product models from an SAP system. This enables the use of standard text comparison tools and version control systems. VClipse is released as an open-source project on http://www.vclipse.org. ConfigModeler supports the specification of product models in a language supporting a high degree of abstraction. Developed in a customer project at Nokia Siemens Networks, this language has been designed according to the customer's needs, uses the customer's concepts, and fits into the customer’s VC and IPC add-ons. ConfigModeler translates the product models to VC objects and dependencies represented as VCML code. We will give a demonstration of the two development environments and give an outlook to current and future developments.

1. Domain Specific Languages
for
Product Modeling
Tim Geisler
webXcerpt Software GmbH
tg@webxcerpt.com
CWG 2011, Cologne 2011-05-10

2. Product Modeling

3. Product Modeling
Specification Coding in SAP R/3
● Materials
● BOMs
● Classes
● Cstics
● Procedures
● Constraints
● Selection Conditions
● Interface Designs

4. Domain-Specific Languages

5. Domain-Specific Languages
Domain-specific language (noun): a computer
programming language of limited expressiveness
focused on a particular domain.
The two main reasons why DSLs are popular:
●
Improving productivity for developers
●
Improving communication with domain experts
(Martin Fowler)

6. Customer Project @
Company-wide
generic product
structure
NSN VC framework
IPC extensions
coding conventions
Standardized
product
descriptions

7. Customer Project @
Company-wide
generic product
structure
NSN VC framework
IPC extensions
coding conventions
product
descriptions
Standardized Formalized

8. Customer Project @
Company-wide
generic product
structure
NSN VC framework
IPC extensions
coding conventions
product
descriptions
Standardized Formalized
Tooling: Eclipse-based IDEs
ConfigModeler
VClipse
Domain Specific Languages
CML + CMLUI + CMLT
VCML

9. ConfigModeler and Vclipse:
Two DSLs with Eclipse-based IDE
RFC
Editor/IDE
Editor/IDE
ConfigModeler
VClipse
CML
VCML
Code Generation

10. CML: Customer's abstractions
product structure
grouping for order structure
logical materials
domains
complex expressions
equations
counting

11. VCML: SAP's abstractions
Language elements for
describing VC objects:
● cstic
● class
● dependency net
● …
Embedded SAP
languages for
dependencies

12. Code Generation: CML to VCML
Generate VC objects and dependencies
●
correct ordering of procedures
Use NSN VC framework
●
use generic variant functions
●
use generic cstics
●
use generic procedures and dependency nets
●
respect NSN naming conventions
Code generation on the fly
●
using Eclipse builder infrastructure
(CWG 2011 presentation
by P. Muthsam/M. Titerea)

13. Interfacing SAP
Two mechanisms for interfacing SAP
●
ALE via IDocs (Product Data Replication)
●
create/change/read/delete objects via RFC
Reading objects via RFC
●
Model extraction from SAP to VCML
No extraction of CML from SAP possible!

14. “When you think product modeling,
think programming.”
(Peter Illing, CWG 2011)

15. IDE: Tooling for Modelers

16. IDE: Tooling for Modelers
Syntax checking
Cross references
Semantic checking

17. IDE: Tooling for Modelers
Outline
Templates
Content Assist
Folding

18. Companion Languages

19. Companion Language I: CMLUI
NSN UI Enhancement Framework
CWG 2011 presentation by
Krisztian Kovacz (Siemens ICT)
Maintenance Dialogs DSL + IDE Tooling

20. Companion Language II: CMLT
Automated Model Testing
Test tool:
Fysbee's ConfigScan
CWG 2011 presentation by
Winfried Kung
DSL for describing test
cases
Transformation into
ConfigScan XML input
format

21. Use of ConfigModeler @
More than 100 product models are currently in
development using ConfigModeler.
(prototypes not included)
40% of these product models are already on
production system.
About 50% of all product models on production
system have been built with ConfigModeler.
(size and complexity not taken into account)

22. Showtime

23. Product “hiT 7030”
Multiplexes STM-1/STM-4 to 2M, 34/45M, STM-1, STM4
1 uplink board with 2 SFP module slots
3 downlink boards with 0-6 SFP module slots

25. Life Demo: Modeling with DSLs

26. Demo: Deployment to SAP
●
Using PDR

28. Technology in Use
Open source technology based on Java
●
Eclipse: IDE platform
●
Xtext:
●
domain-specific language framework
●
ANTLR-based parser
●
IDE generated automatically
●
adaptable via dependency injection (Google Guice)
●
EMF: Eclipse Modeling Framework
SAP JCo / IDocs library

29. Xtext – Some Code Snippets

31. What's new wrt. CWG Vienna 2010?
ConfigModeler
●
ConfigModeler implemented with Xtext
●
improved language and tooling
●
language for NSN UI Extensions
●
language for test cases (Fysbee ConfigScan)
●
new features: variant functions, modularization
VClipse
●
delta calculation
●
minor changes and bugfixes

32. Future
ConfigModeler + VClipse
●
migration to Xtext 2.0 and Eclipse Indigo (3.7)
– improved text-hover information
– improved performance
– code refactoring (e.g. renaming)
●
model-validation rules
●
variant-table contents
●
Engineering Change Management
VClipse
●
language reorganisation
●
features for Advanced Mode

33. VClipse is Free

34. VClipse is Free

35. VClipse.org: Open Source
Use, adapt, integrate, contribute!

36. Use Cases for VClipse
Mass upload (of parts) of configuration
Model comparison
– Use textual or EMF diff tools to compare models
Model versioning
– use version control system for textual models
Model refactoring
– rename objects, move cstics
Model validation
– check own naming conventions
– check for syntactic and semantic errors

37. Conclusion

38. Conclusion
Textual Domain-Specfic Languages
●
suitable for product modeling
●
modern tooling easy to create
with Eclipse / Xtext
VClipse
●
interface to SAP system when using DSLs
●
open-source tool useful for various
product-modeling tasks

39. Thanks to ...
●
various persons at Nokia Siemens Networks
●
Peter Muthsam & Michael Wilhelm (SAP VC)
●
Daniel Naus (CWG Sandbox)
●
various persons at itemis (Xtext)
●
webXcerpt team

40. Can product modeling with textual DSLs
be suitable for your domain and your company?