flatland-model-diagram-editor 0.1.5

Model editor

Flatland Model Diagram Editor

Flatland is a model diagram editor written by myself Leon Starr that generates beautiful PDFs (and other output formats) based on two very human-readable input text files. The model file specifies model semantics (state transitions, generalizations, classes etc) while the layout file specifies (node placement and alignment, connector anchors) and lightly refers to some elements in the model file. You can think of the layout file as a "style sheet" for your models. Some benefits:

• You can now put your models under configuration management since the source is all text.
• Complex model layouts are easily edited without the need for tedious pixel pushing in a graphical editor
• Executable UML (xUML) in particular is supported, but any similar kind of model diagrams can be supported with minor extensions

WARNING: I am in the process of figuring out PyPI for the first time, so it's going to be a few weeks before this tool is ready to use. I don't recommend wasting your time downloading just yet. Follow me on twitter or LinkedIn for updates. I do have a nice alpha version working that makes awesome class diagrams in my cozy PyCharm environment, but it turns out that multi-platform deployment is a pain in the ass. Who knew? ;)

Shameless plug

In the meantime, if you are curious about the whole MBSE thing that this tool supports, take a look at our book. Also, various resources at the Model Integration website.

Installation

You can install the Real Python Feed Reader from PyPI:

pip install flatland-model-editor

The editor is supported on Python 3.7 and above

How to use

Assuming you have two files, my_model.xmm (xmm = Executable Model Markdown) and my_layout.xss (xss = Executable model Style Sheet),

$ flatland -m my_model.xmm -l my_layout.xss -d my_beautiful_diagram.pdf

Or the model can be standard input and the diagram can go to standard output:

$ my_model.xmm > flatland -l my_layout.xss > my_beautiful_diagram.pdf

Model and layout files

Initially I will be supplying a grammar/parser for specifying model layouts. It knows all about nodes, connectors of various types and uses a system for placement of nodes and connector anchors that doesn't require you to know anything about pixels or points. We use an agile system of relative placement that is extremely awesome!

The grammar is a PEG grammar defined using the arpeggio python package.

The model grammar/parser, also provided, is specifically for xUML model semantics. If you have some other modeling language that you want to draw, no worries. You can use the template to create your own grammar. You will need to get comfortable with arpeggio and PEG grammars, but you're a smart engineer and I know you can do it!

Schedule

I will be futzing around with PyPI, manifests, documentation, relative imports and so forth into early February 2021, so a version you can actually use to do something useful probably won't be available until then.

Expect this to be in serious beta by late spring 2021. I would like it to be sooner, but I have a day job.