Display a UML Diagram using Draw2D

Source: http://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-GEF-Draw2d/GEF-Draw2d.html

Summary

The Graphical Editing Framework (GEF) ships with a painting and layout plug-in called Draw2D . Draw2D provides figures and layout managers which form the graphical layer of a GEF application. This article focuses only on the use of Draw2D to render a simple UML class diagram.  While Draw2D can be used for standalone purposes, it is not an editing framework.  Most applications will use the GEF plug-in as the editing layer.

By Daniel Lee, IBM August 25, 2003

Introduction

Draw2d provides lightweight rendering and layout capabilities on an SWT Canvas. Figures, Layout Managers, and Borders can be combined and nested to create more complex figures to suit just about any application. Choosing the right combination of figures and layouts to create the desired effect can be a delicate task. This article will walk you through creating a complex figure.

Due to the scope of this article, the example code presented uses Draw2d in isolation, but most applications will use GEF and Draw2d together.

Creating the Draw2d Figure

An Example

This article will be based upon the creation of the following Draw2d Figure, a simplified UML class diagram:

Designing the Figure

The first step in the creation of a figure is to decide on the components that will comprise the figure, and how they will be arranged.

The example figure is composed of three children figures. The composition itself is named UMLClassFigure . Its first child, a Label figure, will display the class name ("Table" in this example).  The next two children are containers for the class' attributes and methods.  We will create a figure called CompartmentFigure for this purpose. Both the class and compartment figures will use a ToolbarLayout to place their children. Here is a conceptual diagram of the overall structure:

Creating the CompartmentFigure Class

CompartmentFigure is used to hold both methods and attributes. This class extends org.eclipse.draw2d.Figure, and uses a ToolbarLayout to place its children. In addition, CompartmentFigure uses a custom border. This border simply paints a line 1 pixel in thickness across its top, to serve as the separator between the CompartmentFigures. The code for CompartmentFigure is as follows:

Creating the UMLClassFigure Class

The UMLClassFigure class is in many ways similar to the CompartmentFigure class. It contains three children -- two CompartmentFigures for attributes and methods and a Draw2d Label to display the class name. It also uses a vertically oriented ToolbarLayout to place its children. UMLClassFigure uses Draw2d's LineBorder to draw a box around its edges. The code for the UMLClassFigure class is as follows:

Adding a Connection

Draw2d offers a special type of figure, called a connection, for connecting two figures. To create a connection in Draw2d, it is first necessary to establish the two endpoints of the connection. These endpoints are called the source and the target anchors. Endpoints are created using objects that implement the ConnectionAnchor interface. Once these anchors are created, they are set as endpoints via calls to the connection's setSourceAnchor(ConnectionAnchor) and setTargetAnchor(ConnectionAnchor) methods. This is demonstrated below using a ChopboxAnchor. This type of anchor places the connection endpoint on the edge of the figure and causes it to point towards the figure's center.

The following code demonstrates the addition of a connection:

Two UMLClassFigures connected by a PolyLineConnection

Adding a Decoration to the Connection

Draw2d also provides means for endpoint decorations, such as arrow-tips. Staying with the UML theme, we will create a decoration that represents a composed relationship, which is shown in UML as a filled diamond. This is done using a PolygonDecoration. The default shape of a PolygonDecoration is a filled arrowhead, but any shape can be used by creating a template for the decoration using a PointList, and calling the PolygonDecoration's setTemplate(PointList) method.

The following code demonstrates the addition of a PolygonDecoration to a Connection:

Connection with a PolygonDecoration

Adding Labels to the Connection Using Locators

In addition to decorations, it is possible to add other Draw2d figures to the connection itself. This is done by calling the connection's add(IFigure figure, Object constraint) method where 'figure' is the figure that you wish to add, and 'constraint' is an object that implements the Locator interface. The Locator places the figure on the connection. We will use this technique to add labels to our class diagram. The ConnectionEndpointLocator will be used for these labels. This locator places its figure relative to the connection's source or target endpoint. It allows the user to define the distance that the figure will appear relative to the end point via its setUDistance(int) and setVDistance(int) methods. (uDistance is the distance from the connection's owner to the figure. vDistance is the distance from the figure to the connection itself).

The following code demonstrates the use of ConnectionEndpointLocators to add Labels to a Connection:

Adding Labels to the Connection

Creating a Test Class

This class contains a main method that creates an SWT shell and places a Draw2d LightweightSystem on that shell. The LightweightSystem class provides the link between SWT and Draw2d. The test class creates a Draw2d figure to act as the contents of the LightweightSystem and adds two UMLClassFigures to this figure. It then connects the two class figures with a polyline connection, adds a diamond polygon decorator, and adds the UML relationship labels to the connection.

This class uses the following images: { }. Download them and place them at the root of a Java project directory.

Conclusions

This article has served as an introduction to the customized use of the Graphical Editing Framework's visual component, Draw2d figures. The concepts of Draw2d connections, decorations, and locators have also been introduced. For more information on GEF, see the GEF website. ( http://www.eclipse.org/gef ).

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Randy Hudson and Eric Bordeau for providing constructive comments on the article.

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