Language Visualizer

Language Namespace : com.dslfoundry.langvis

A JetBrains MPS plugin to visualize the structure of a language.

The visualization shows in an integrated toolwindow, but the visualization can also be viewed using an image viewer which refreshes on file change.

Check the Readme for the current MPS version of mps-langvis on master. Other versions can be found in the maintenance/ branches.

An integrated tool window is shown when visualizing (parts of) a language.

It was tested with Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Installation

The following installation instructions assume an apt-get package manager on Linux and the Chocolatey package manager (https://chocolatey.org/) on Windows.

Runtime prerequisites:

1. Install MPS and Langvis. Langvis bundles the MIT-licensed PlantUML library; the Markdown plugin and runtime downloads are not required.
2. A separate Oracle JDK, PlantUML jar in your home directory, and JAVA_HOME configuration are not required. MPS’s bundled runtime is used.
3. GraphViz may be needed by PlantUML for layouts that use it.

Build prerequisites:

1. Install MPS and Ant (e.g. using sudo apt-get install ant or choco install apache.ant).
2. Clone this git repository.

Install plugin

Install the plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace.

Usage of the plugin

You can create the following types of visualizations:

• Full structure of a language (right click structure of the language and select Visualize Language Structure) - hotkey: Ctrl+Shift+M
• Concept structure showing the children and inheritance hierarchy of a concept (Right-click concept and select Visualize Concept Context)

When visualizing the structure, a tool window automatically opens on the side.

The tool window allows you to select the following options using check boxes:

• Structure shows relations (lines) between children and descendants (the composition structure) of the concept.
• Hierarchy shows concept extension and interface implementation/extension relations (the inheritance hierarchy) of the vizualized concepts.
• Cardinality shows the cardinalities (e.g. 1, 0..1, 0..n) of the visualized relations.
• Role names show the names of the child/descendant next to the line.
• Flatten namespaces: do not group items from the same namespace, but show fully qualified names of the items instead.

After adjusting the options, you need to press the refresh icon to apply the changes.

Zoom re-renders the retained SVG at the selected scale rather than magnifying a bitmap. It does not rerun PlantUML. Refresh regenerates the diagram from the current model and options, then renders the new SVG at the current zoom. The preview preserves the diagram’s aspect ratio and limits the raster to 16 million device pixels and 10,000 device pixels per side, including on HiDPI displays. Large diagrams are reduced to fit these limits. Rendering failures are reported in the MPS Messages tool window; the previous preview remains available.

If the provided tool panel isn’t to your liking, you can view the visualization in an image viewer instead.

(Optional) Viewing the visualization with your favorite image viewer

Langvis writes mps-metamodel.puml and mps-metamodel.svg in your home directory. The integrated tool window displays the generated SVG; you can also open the SVG in an image viewer of your choice.