A version control interface for graphical discrete-event models

Huang, David

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104946 Copy

Description

Title

A version control interface for graphical discrete-event models

Author(s)

Huang, David

Issue Date

2019-04-26

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Sanders, William H.

Department of Study

Electrical & Computer Eng

Discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

Discrete-event models Version control Graphical models Visualization

Abstract

Möbius is a discrete event modeling tool used for the creation and analysis of complex system models. Such models are typically graphical in nature and are built and maintained using editors provided with the tool. Typical project environments strongly resemble those of conventional software development, as they both exhibit similar problems such as project complexity and size scale-up. Specific problems include difficulty sharing work between team members, confusing and error-prone workflows during resolution of conflicting changesets, and the need for additional processes to manage multiple versions of the project or project components. Those problems are handled in the software world via version control systems (VCS): sets of tools and procedures designed to automate the more tedious parts of the problem where possible and to ease the burden on human developers when their input is needed. However, such solutions are designed for text, making them difficult to use with a Möbius project. In a normal workflow, model developers use an internal Möbius editor to view and modify the models that make up a project. The models are saved to disk as formatted text files not intended for direct human use. While they encode all the features needed to reconstruct the model, a model developer directly viewing the text would have great difficulty parsing the higher-level meaning of the model. A common task when maintaining a large software project is that of comparing two versions of a file, often to resolve conflicts between more changesets or to triage a newly discovered bug. When performed on the raw textual form of a model, that task is difficult and very prone to error, since the high-level graphical concepts do not map cleanly to independent text snippets. This thesis presents a structure with which a VCS could be integrated into Möbius projects. The proposed system includes direct integration of core VCS features directly into the Möbius user interface as well as a set of changes to Möbius graphical editors to allow visual comparison and merging of models. Furthermore, the proposed system is implemented using the Git VCS and the ADVISE model formalism as a proof of concept.

Graduation Semester

2019-05

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104946

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 David Huang

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