Web-Native Graphical EMF Model Editors

Abstract

Graphical model editing is shifting from desktop applications to web-based tools. We analyze the characteristics of existing frameworks and, based on this analysis, we derive a set of design principles that imply low-effort generation, extensive customization possibilities, and straightforward deployment of the resulting editors. On these grounds, we introduce EMFular, a purely web-based framework for managing EMF models without any backend. The accompanying EMFular generator maps a given Ecore model (an EMF metamodel) to a ready-to-use and ready-to-customize graphical editor. EMFular editors provide 'EMF consistency', that is, they not only support standard modeling operations such as creation, inspection, navigation, editing, and undo/redo, but they also handle containment and inverse references in close alignment with EMF; they also provide interoperability with existing EMF tooling through compatible de-/serialization. A generated editor is an Angular project with designated extension points, which allows developers to customize and extend all aspects of the editor using the expressive power of Angular and its ecosystem, guided by the extension points of EMFular. We evaluate EMFular in terms of editor adequacy (available editing capabilities), adaptability (customization mechanisms and required effort), and robustness of the generation.