Media-Doc Diagram Generator
What is the Diagram Generator?
The Diagram Generator, or Diagen, is a Java applet that represents
sets of related
data either as a branching tree or in a nested layout on a web page.
Nodes and edges of a graph can be associated with URLs to create
interactive hyper-texted diagrams. Users may also modify the diagram
by manipulating its layout type or node order (currently) and saving
the result.
Foreground objects and actions can be specified on top of the graph to
create time-sequenced animations. Ultimately, real-time systems will
be hooked up to dynamically feed translated event actions to the applet.
How does it work?
The diagram is generated from a MAP (Markup for Authoring Presentations)
description in a file on the
applet server's machine. The applet requests the file from the server
and interprets the MAP description to create and display the diagram
at the client site.
The DiagramGenerator interacts with a server to record and update
information about its diagrams. This is so you can make changes to
a diagram and expect them to still be there when you return to the
diagram.
At this point, the Diagram Generator takes node pairs that are passed to it,
labels for the edges that connect the node, and
URL anchors for the nodes.
How is it used in Media-Doc?
The Diagram Generator is used to provide a graphical element to the
MediaDoc
project.
At the moment it has been implemented to display the
relations between components in a software package. The nodes in the diagram
may be clicked on to view information about a particular component.
Release 3.1 of the Diagram Generator is running on our test MediaDoc server.
Login as guest and go to the menu item Project and
select the project ModSAF.
Now select the menu item Topic, and then Behaviors. MediaDoc will
show a list of links, click on Sweep_Taskframe, and Diagen will create
a graphical description of the Sweep_Taskframe. The diagram takes a while to create
because it is generated dynamically from textual information in the MediaDoc database.
How is it used in general?
The Diagram Generator can be used to display many kinds of graphical
information. The following examples are available from our
development server, which goes up and down alot. Maybe you'll get
lucky. Enter the username "guest" and no password to access these examples.
- ETG
example, an example of the layout and hypertext capabilities of Diagen.
-
PLANS (1)
PLANS (2)
PLANS (3):
Examples of the plan animation capabilities of Diagen, including geographical
information overlay.
- AMPSE
example, an example that was created dynamically by the I-Doc program.
- ModSaf
example, an example that was created to show different logical views.
Is the code available?
Yes, release 3.1 is now available for download. See our Release Information page.
What are we currently working on?
We are focusing now on developing the animation capabilities of the
Diagram Generator. We are looking at examples of diagrams,
particularly those that display or explain events of real-time systems,
in an effort to codify our MAP animation specification.
Background objects such as nodes and edges are being further endowed
with attributes such as color, shape, and layout type to allow users
to create more interesting-looking graphs.
The following is a sample of some of Diagen's future capabilities.
- URL anchors for edges.
- More defined behavior for nested layouts.
- Dynamic addition and deletion of nodes and edges.
- Multiple layout types within a single diagram.
- The ability to use images and descriptive text within a node.
- The ability to record preferences for particular layout arrangements
to reload at a later time.
Questions:
Please address technical questions about
Media-Doc to Rogelio Adobbati at rogelio@isi.edu
Back to Media-Doc homepage
Last modified on 8/6/98 by Rogelio Adobbati