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Other tools for implementation of visual languages

On this page, we would like to to given an overview about other systems with similar abstraction level. Up to now, we only know a few internet presentations of such systems. We would be grateful for your hints to complete this list.

DiaGen ist based on hypergraph grammars. It generates editors, which allow free and structured editing. Because the system generates Java code, it is possible to evaluate a sample editor for Nassi-Shneiderman diagrams online.

Penguins is designed for interactive pen-based systems. Just like DiaGen the system generates user interfaces, which allow free and structured editing. The specification is based on "constraint multiset" grammars.

GenGEd is based on graph grammars to describe for syntax description. Algebraic specifications are used to describe graphical symbols, relations and layout constraints. Structure editors are generated from this specification.

Escalante (Last update: 1995!) provides a collection of C++ classes, which can be specialized for a language implementation. There is a development environment with some graphical special purpose languages to aid the implementation process.

Moses is a system for modeling, simulation, implementation, and evaluation of heterogeneous systems. It contains the specification language GTDL (Graph Type Definition Language). Using this language, the syntax and statical semantics of graph-like visual formalisms can be defined.

VLCC (Last update: 1995!) allows a designer to implement a visual language in a YACC-like fashion by specifying (1) the appearance of the tokens of the language and (2) the syntax of the visual language in a particular grammar formalism (positional grammars).

Meta-Case Systeme like Dome, GME, or MetaEdit+ are used to implement domain-specific modeling languages. First a model of the language structure (a meta-model) is specified. The graphical representation of meta-model instances ( models) can then be specified by (graphical) tools. In general meta-case systems are easy to use, but the visual design space is quite restricted.