Articles

This page links to more than 80 articles on various aspects of Epsilon. Should you find that an article is outdated, please let us know.

Epsilon Object Language

• EOL syntax updates: This article summarizes changes in the EOL concrete syntax over time.
• Extended Properties: This article demonstrates the extended properties mechanism in EOL (and by inheritance, in all languages in Epsilon).
• Call Java from Epsilon: This article demonstrates how to create Java objects, access their properties and call their methods from Epsilon languages.
• Running Epsilon from Java: This article demonstrates how to parse and execute Epsilon programs and load models from headless Java applications.
• Running Epsilon Programs on POJOs: This article demonstrates how to run EOL programs and EGL templates on plain-old Java objects (POJOs).
• Call Java functional interfaces from Epsilon: This article demonstrates how to call native methods which take functions as their parameter, using lambdas and streams directly from Epsilon using EOL syntax.
• Profiling Epsilon Programs: This article demonstrates how to profile Epsilon programs using the platform's built-in profiling tools.
• EOL Interpreter View: This article demonstrates an Eclipse view for running EOL scripts against selected model elements in EMF-based editors.
• Epsilon Debugger: Demonstrates how to use the Eclipse-based step-by-step debugging support in the Epsilon languages.

Epsilon Validation Language

• EVL-GMF Integration: This article demonstrates evaluating EVL constraints from within a GMF-based editor.
• EVL-EMF Validation Integration: This article demonstrates contributing EVL constraints to EMF's validation framework.
• Parallel Execution: This article explains how to use the parallel module implementations for EOL and rule-based languages like EVL.

Epsilon Generation Language

• Code Generation Tutorial with EGL: This article demonstrates using EGL templates to generate HTML files from an XML document.
• Running Epsilon Programs on POJOs: This article demonstrates how to run EOL programs and EGL templates on plain-old Java objects (POJOs).
• Using template operations in EGL: This article demonstrates template operations for writing re-usable code in EGL (the model-to-text language of Epsilon).
• EGL as a server-side language: This article demonstrates using EGL (the model-to-text language of Epsilon) in Tomcat to produce HTML pages from EMF models on the fly.
• Co-ordinating EGL templates with EGX: This article demonstrates how to parameterize EGL templates and execute them multiple times to produce multiple files.
• Re-using EGL templates: This article demonstrates how to invoke other EGL templates and direct their output to calling EGL template.
• EGL Patch Templates: This article demonstrates how to patch existing files with EGL.

Epsilon Transformation Language

• XML to EMF Transformation: This article shows how to transform an XML document into an EMF model using the Epsilon Transformation Language and Epsilon's XML driver

Epsilon and EMF models

• Emfatic language reference: Emfatic is a language designed to represent EMF Ecore models in a textual form. This article details the syntax of Emfatic and the mapping between Emfatic declarations and the corresponding Ecore constructs.
• Reflective EMF tutorial: This tutorial demonstrates how to create an EMF Ecore metamodel and a sample model that conforms to it reflectively (i.e. without generating any code).
• Epsilon and EMF: Frequently-asked questions related to querying and modifying EMF-based models with Epsilon.
• The EMF EPackage Registry View: This article demonstrates the EPackage Registry view which allows developers to inspect the contents of the registered EMF EPackages.
• Exeed annotation reference: This article lists the annotations you can use on your metamodels to customize the look of the Exeed model editor.
• Inspecting EMF models with Exeed: This article demonstrates how you can use Exeed to inspect the structure of your EMF models.
• Working with custom EMF resources: This article demonstrates how you can work with custom EMF resources in Epsilon.
• Parsing XML documents as EMF models with Flexmi: This article demonstrates how you can use Flexmi to parse XML documents in a fuzzy manner as instances of Ecore metamodels.
• Modularity Mechanisms in Flexmi: This article demonstrates how you can break down Flexmi models over multiple files and use templates to capture complex reusable structures in your models.
• Connecting to CDO repositories: This article shows how to connect to an Eclipse Connected Data Objects model repository from Epsilon.
• Using Epsilon for Ecore Validation, Setting and Invocation Delegation: This shows how to use Epsilon in an Ecore model to provide Invocation and Setting delegation with EOL and Validation Delegation with EVL.

Epsilon and UML models

• Managing Profiled UML Models in Epsilon: This article shows how to create and query profiled Eclipse UML models using Epsilon's core language.

Epsilon and Simulink models

• Scripting Simulink models using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can query and modify Simulink models in Epsilon.
• Managing Matlab Simulink/Stateflow models from Epsilon: This tutorial shows you how to manipulate Simulink and Stateflow blocks from within Epsilon.

Epsilon and other types of models

• Scripting XML documents using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can create, query and modify plain standalone XML documents (i.e. no XSD/DTD needed) in Epsilon programs using the PlainXML driver.
• Scripting XML documents that conform to an XSD schema using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can create, query and modify XML documents backed by an XSD schema in Epsilon.
• Scripting YAML documents using Epsilon: This article demonstrates how you can query and modify YAML documents with Epsilon programs using the YAML driver.
• Scripting JSON documents using Epsilon: This article shows how you can create, query and modify JSON documents with Epsilon programs using the JSON driver.
• Scripting CSV files using Epsilon: This article demonstrates how you can query CSV files with Epsilon programs using the CSV driver.
• Scripting Excel spreadsheets using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can create, query and modify Excel spreadsheets in Epsilon programs.
• Scripting HTML documents using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can create, query and modify HTML documents in Epsilon programs using the HTML driver.
• Scripting BibTeX files using Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how you can query a list of references stored in BibTeX files with Epsilon programs using the BibTeX driver.
• Treating Java code as a model in Epsilon: In this article we demonstrate how Epsilon languages can query Java code as if it were a model, using a driver that builds on the Eclipse Java Development Tools.

Eugenia

Fundamentals

• Eugenia GMF Tutorial: This article provides a guide to using Eugenia for developing GMF editors, as well as its complete list of features and supported annotations.
• Customizing an editor generated with Eugenia: This article demonstrates Eugenia's polishing transformations, which can be used to customize GMF editors in a systematic and reproducible way.
• Applying source code patches to an editor generated with Eugenia: This article demonstrates Eugenia's patch generation and application functionality, which can be used to customize the Java source code generated by GMF in a systematic and reproducible way.
• Eugenia: Automated Invocation with Ant: This article demonstrates how to run Eugenia from Ant, and some of the additional features offered through the Ant task.

Recipes

• Eugenia: Nodes with images instead of shapes: This article shows how to create nodes in your GMF editor that are represented with images (png, jpg etc.) instead of the standard GMF shapes (rectangle, ellipse etc.)
• Eugenia: Nodes with images defined at run-time: This article addresses the case where the end-user needs to set an image for each node at runtime.
• Eugenia: Nodes with a centred layout: This article shows how to create nodes in your GMF editor whose contents are centred both vertically and horizontally.
• Eugenia: Phantom nodes in GMF editors: This article demonstrates how to define GMF phantom nodes in Eugenia.

Picto

• Visualising Models with Picto: Picto is an Eclipse view for visualising models via model-to-text transformation to SVG/HTML. The article introduces Picto and shows the tool in action.
• Drill-Down Sequence Diagrams with Picto: This article demonstrates using Picto and its PlantUML integration to generate drill-down sequence diagrams from models conforming to a minimal EMF-based sequence diagram language.
• Visualising Models with Picto and Sirius: This article demonstrates using Picto to produce dynamic web-based views (pie and bar charts) from Sirius-based models.
• Visualising Xtext models with Picto: This article shows how Picto can be used to produce graphical views from Xtext-based models.
• Table visualisations with Picto and Pinset: This article shows how to create table views in Picto that render static CSV files or those generated with a Pinset transformation.
• Embedding Picto views in static Markdown or HTML documents: This article shows how to embed Picto views to create Markdown or HTML-based model reports.

Workflow (ANT Tasks)

• Running Epsilon's ANT Tasks from Command Line: This article shows how to run Epsilon's ANT tasks from command line or in the context of a CI build.

Development Environments

• VS Code: This article provides an overview of how you can edit and run Epsilon programs in the VS Code IDE.
• Sublime: This repository provides a package that adds Epsilon syntax highlighting capabilities to the Sublime editor.

Human-Usable Textual Notation

• Using the Human-Usable Textual Notation (HUTN) in Epsilon: This article demonstrates how to specify models using a textual notation.
• Customising Epsilon HUTN documents with configuration: This article demonstrates how to customise Epsilon HUTN documents with a configuration model.
• Compliance of Epsilon HUTN to the OMG HUTN Standard: This article summarises the similarities and differences between the Epsilon HUTN implementation and the OMG HUTN standard.

Teaching Material

• MDE Exercises: This article provides a number of exercises which enable you to test your knowledge on MDE, EMF and Epsilon.
• Epsilon Playground: The Epsilon Playground is a web application for fiddling with metamodelling, modelling and automated model management using Emfatic, Flexmi and Epsilon's languages.

Technical Support

• Troubleshooting: A list of common issues that (particularly new) users of Epsilon tend to run into.
• Constructing a helpful minimal example: From time to time, you may run into a problem when using Epsilon or find a bug. This article describes how to construct a minimal example that we can use to reproduce the problem on our machine.

Extending Epsilon

• Developing a new Epsilon Language: This article demonstrates how to develop a new language on top of Epsilon.
• Developing a new EMC Driver: This article demonstrates how to develop a new driver for Epsilon's Model Connectivity layer (EMC).
• Monitoring and Instrumenting Epsilon Programs: This article demonstrates how Epsilon interpreters provide support for hooking into the execution of model management programs.

Installation

• Working with Epsilon 1.x: This article contains instructions for installing legacy versions of Epsilon prior to 2.0.
• Setting up Eclipse for Epsilon development: This article explains how to easily set up and configure an Eclipse IDE for contributing to Epsilon.

Epsilon Developers

• Running Epsilon from source: This article demonstrates how to run Epsilon from source in your machine.
• Call for User Stories: This is a kind request to all Epsilon Users.
• Manage the Epsilon website locally: This article demonstrates how to manage the Epsilon website in your machine.
• Epsilon development principles: These are the guiding principles used by the developers of Epsilon.
• Managing the target platform: This article outlines how to manage the target platform that Epsilon is built against.
• Adding new plugins: This article outlines the process of adding new plugins to the main Epsilon repository.
• Preparing the macOS distribution: This article outlines the process of signing the Eclipse macOS distribution.
• Publishing to the EpsilonLabs Updatesite: This article outlines the process for publishing a plugin (EMC driver/language/tool) from the EpsilonLabs Github organisation to the EpsilonLabs updatesite.
• Releasing a new version of Epsilon: This article lists all the tasks required for releasing a version of Epsilon.
• Releasing a new version to Maven Central: This article outlines how to release a new version of the Epsilon standalone artifacts to Maven Central.