Abstract Model Designer Tutorial

This abstract model designer is a Java Applet which enables domain experts to use data types, service types and existing abstract models as basic components to construct abstract models, which represent the domain knowledge of the experts, in a clicking and dragging manner. The experts can choose to validate the abstract models and register those models into the Catalogue Service for Web (CSW), which will enable the abstract models available for later use. An abstract model can be instantiated and transformed into a concrete BPEL process, which can be executed in a BPEL engine (e.g. BPELPower ).

Please go to http://laits.gmu.edu/vdp/ to try this designer.

User interfaces of the designer

User Interfaces

There are two parts in the user interface. The left part contains 3 tab pages: “ DataType ”, “ ServiceType ” and “Selected ServiceType ”. DataType tab page lists all the data types in the data classification scheme as a tree structure; ServiceType tab page lists all the service types. Selected ServiceType tab page is used to list the user search results. The right part contains two tab pages: “Model Design Panel” and “Registered Model List”. Users construct models inside the Model Design Panel. The Registered Model List panel is used to do some registered model management, such as querying models, deleting models.

In the “Model Design Panel”, a service type is represented as a blue icon and a data type is represented as a green icon. A service type icon will be connected with one output data type icon and with one or more data type icons. Two service types can not be connected directly. They will be connected via a common data type, which represents the matching of the input and output data types.

Step by step to construct a landslide model

1. In the first step choose the data type. On " DataType " tab page select the “ Landslide_Susceptibility ” data type item.

2. Move the mouse cursor into the area of "Model Design Panel" , click the right mouse button and a popup menu will appear. Choose "Add DataType : Landslide_Susceptibility " menu item and there will be a green icon representing the data type added to the panel.

3. Click right mouse button on the added “ Landslide_Susceptibility ” data type icon. Choose "Find ServiceType " menu item on the menu to find all the service types that can generate this kind of data type.

4. Now the "Selected ServiceType " tab page will be refreshed and all the found service types will be listed: “Landslide_Susceptibility_2i” and “Landslide_Susceptibility_4i”.

5. Select “Landslide_Susceptibility_2i” from the "Selected ServiceType " list. Move the mouse to the empty area in the "Model Design Panel" and right click. Choose "Add ServiceType : Landslide_Susceptibility_2i" and some icons representing this service type and its input data types will appear in the panel.

6. In this step, do the line connecting. Double click left mouse button on the blue “Landslide_Susceptibility_2i” service type icon, then move the mouse onto select the target green “ Landslide_Susceptibility ” data type icons single click the left button.

7. For the “ Terrain_Slope ” and “ Terrain_Aspect ” input data types of service type “ Landslide_Susceptibility_2i”, do the following.

8. Click right mouse button on the added “ Terrain_Slope ” data type icon. Choose "Find ServiceType " menu item. Choose “Slope” service type from the “Selected ServiceType ” tab page. Then add this “Slope” service type into the “Model Design Panel” and connect “Slope” service type with “ Terrain_Slope ” data type.

9. Click right mouse button on the added “ Terrain_Aspect ” data type icon. Choose "Find ServiceType " menu item. Choose “Aspect” service type from the “Selected ServiceType ” tab page. Then add this “Aspect” service type into the “Model Design Panel” and connect “Aspect” service type with “Terrain_ Aspect” data type.

10. Validate the model. Click right mouse button on any empty area of "Model Design Panel", choose "Validate the Model" menu item to validate the abstract model. If the model is valid, a dialog box will appear to say the model is valid. Otherwise a dialog box will appear to show an error in the model and one of the error icons on the "Model Design Panel" will be highlighted will red color.

11. Register the model into CSW. Click right mouse button on any empty area of "Model Design Panel", choose "Register the Model into CSW" and a registration wizard dialog will appear. Follow this wizard to register this model.

Register a new model

12. After registering the model into the CSW, a new record will be added to the "Registered Model List" page.

Model management in the "Registered Model List" tab page

"Registered Model List" tab page user interface

•	List the registered abstract models
	"Refresh Model List" button will list the registered abstract models in the CSW. There are two options. If the "Show All Models" box is checked, then all the abstract models in the CSW will be listed. Otherwise only those models registered in this session are listed.
•	Show the details of an abstract model
	Choose one model from the list, then click "Show Details" button. A dialog box like the following one will appear:
	Details of an abstract model
•	Delete registered models
	Select one or more models from the list, then click "Delete" button.

Abstract Model Designer usage tips

•	Select one or more icons or lines
	Click left mouse button to select one object on the design panel. Use "Control" key to select multiple objects.
•	Move icons in the model design panel
	Select one or more icons first, then use mouse or keyboard (Direction keys)to move the icons within the design panel.
•	Delete icons/lines from the model design panel
	Select one or more icons/lines first, then use keyboard (Delete key) to delete those objects.
•	Automatic line connecting
	If the "Automatic line connecting" check box in the popup menu is selected, a line will automatically be added to connect the service type icon with the matched data type icon when a new service type icon is added to the design panel.