1. Visual Scripting of XML

2. Introduction - Presenters
David Webber
Paul Stannard
The complex state of XML today…
XML standards are constantly changing and even disappearing making it difficult to maintain and propagate standards for a specific application
XML will not be adopted by business users unless it can be created and modified in a format they understand
Domain experts possess the knowledge of how processes should work – not the application designer – but there are no tools to facilitate the communication between them

3. Tutorial Agenda Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Why Visual Scripting?
Theory of Visual Scripting
Examples
Part 2
How VisualScript Works
Building VisualScript models
Part 3
Worked Examples – BPEL, BPSS and more
Requests?
The complex state of XML today…
XML standards are constantly changing and even disappearing making it difficult to maintain and propagate standards for a specific application
XML will not be adopted by business users unless it can be created and modified in a format they understand
Domain experts possess the knowledge of how processes should work – not the application designer – but there are no tools to facilitate the communication between them

4. Why Visual Scripting?
Part 1

5. Is XML Too Complex?
Can XML standards be easily developed, updated and promoted?
Are there only a handful of XML gurus who really understand the developing standards?
Is there an intuitive, graphical way to represent business processes?
Can the domain expert’s knowledge be captured accurately?
The complex state of XML today…
XML standards are constantly changing and even disappearing making it difficult to maintain and propagate standards for a specific application
XML will not be adopted by business users unless it can be created and modified in a format they understand
Domain experts possess the knowledge of how processes should work – not the application designer – but there are no tools to facilitate the communication between them

6. Why Visual Scripting? – What are we trying to do?
Allow non XML experts to express their business knowledge in XML formats – particularly business processes
Insulate users from the details of XML syntax
Capture the knowledge of experts in a re-usable form
Make XML re-usable!
To be completely open
Support any XML standard
To accelerate the adoption and deployment of XML by making it easier!

7. Visual Scripting of Business Processes
Or like this…
Do you represent a business process like this…

8. Introducing Visual Scripting…
Visual Scripting = Drawing XML
Step 1:
Using scripted
symbols, domain
experts DRAW a
business process
Step 2:
VisualScript BUILDS
XML code based on
the diagram
Step 3:
Define RUN
parameters to
specify output
So let’s make sure we understand what we mean by Visual Scripting.
Visual Scripting is actually drawing XML.
You just drag and drop ready-made symbols to create a drawing – perhaps a flowchart or other process diagram.
The diagram then generates the XML code.
By defining run parameters, you determine what happens next. Run another application or perhaps post to a URL
VisualScript is to XML what FrontPage and the other WYSIWGY editors were to HTML. It takes a visual representation, and turns it into code. Even someone who knows nothing about XML could take a pre-defined model and use it to create a perfect, working XML script.

9. Theory of Visual Scripting
Part 1

10. Theory of Visual Scripting
XML is hierarchical and associative
Visual metaphor must match richness of XML expression
Need a higher level abstraction that insulates users from syntax
Conceptual objects not tags
Automatic control of hierarchy
Package abstraction as an intuitive, re-usable model
Access, Outreach & Communication

11. Approach Work from XML output as a roadmap
Map appropriate XML fragments to logical components.
Logical component = symbol with real world meaning
Design a template that creates the XML output from the logical components
Use UI components that automate hierarchy
Swim lanes & trees
Modify output with user input
Entry fields on symbols
Automatic cross references (+across models)
Validation

12. Visual Scripting Example Process
Code is built from the diagram
Drag and
drop pre-
programmed
symbols
Define Run Parameters & Run
Let’s take a closer look at this process. Users simply drag and drop pre-programmed shapes to the drawing area from a symbol library. Then generate the code.

13. How VisualScript Works
Part 2

14. VisualScript: The Process Solution
Provides a graphical interface to business processes represented as XML such as BPEL and BPSS
Facilitates rapid prototyping of emerging standards and ensures compliance
Bridges the communication gap between business people and XML developers
Allows ANY flavor of XML; It’s completely open!
Graphical interface
Rapid prototyping of emerging standards and ensures automatic compliance
3. Completely open
4. Leverage knowledge of domain experts to accurately reflect processes in XML

15. The VisualScript Story
Our history is business process diagramming
Business processes are flowcharts and should be represented as such
Forms are a good linear solution, but are inadequate for process-oriented applications
ebXML story

16. How VisualScript Works – Statements
A drawing is a list of shapes
Each shape
is assigned
one or more
statements
Documents have statements
These are compiled into a script

17. How VisualScript Works – 1
Demo
How VisualScript Works – 1
Basic concepts and operations
Add script to conceptual objects
Hierarchy
Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

18. How VisualScript Works – Fields & Expressions
Allow users to enter the value of a variable by adding Fields to shapes.
Assign properties to field values with Field Types and Drop-Lists
Use Expressions to streamline coding efforts
In the following demo, we’ll learn how VisualScript works.

19. How VisualScript Works – Hierarchy
Empower end-users to create well-formed XML with tools that automatically enforce hierarchical relationships.
Automatic Connectors
Swim Lanes

20. How VisualScript Works – Scripted Symbols
Associate script with real-world objects that represent steps in a process
NOT a symbol for each element.
Do not assume users will order the statements

21. How VisualScript Works - 2
Demo
How VisualScript Works - 2
Creating re-usable models
Add script to conceptual objects
Hierarchy
Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

22. How VisualScript Works – A Model Defined
A Model is a diagram with pre-defined properties
Users drag and drop pre-programmed symbols from a docked library
VisualScript follows the
flow of the diagram to
generate compliant XML script
A model can support one or more output languages
Model Advisors provide help to get started
A model is just a diagram made up of those symbols. Sometimes they’re connected with lines, and the lines can also have script statements associated with them.
Drawing the model is easy: you just drag and drop the components, and they automatically help you link them together.
After you’ve drawn the model, you just tell it to build the script into any language.
Advisors guide end users through the process

23. How VisualScript Works – Building a Model
Make your symbols
Make a library and add the symbols
Make a document
Set the validation, run parameters and lock
Save as a template

24. How VisualScript Works – Validate, Build & Run
Generate Script from a diagram with one click
Set validation options
Define Run Parameters
In the following demo, we’ll learn how VisualScript works.

25. How VisualScript Works - 3
Demo
How VisualScript Works - 3
Using logical groups - thinking beyond simple tags
Add script to conceptual objects
Hierarchy
Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

26. How VisualScript Works – Re-using XML
A symbol with fields is re-usable XML – a Function
Whole drawings can be re-usable using #include statements and linking
Create a hierarchy of drawings

27. How VisualScript Works – 4
Demo
How VisualScript Works – 4
Additional tools and features
Add script to conceptual objects
Hierarchy
Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

28. How VisualScript Works – Power Features
Automatically generated lists
Other expressions
Conditional
Math
Assignment
Properties
Integrated Debugger

29. How VisualScript Works – Scripted Symbols
2. Insert Syntax
4. Add Field Rules
1. Select Symbol
3. Define Fields
& Types

30. How VisualScript Works – Statement Ordering
Use Automatic Connectors to
create hierarchy among objects
2. Automatically enforce
Parent / Child relationships
3. Use indent / out-dent tools to set relationships manually
4. View Statement Order in the
diagram

31. Enforcing Standards with VisualScript Models
allow you to create
reusable symbol
libraries and
template diagrams
for other users

32. BREAK Open and generate sample VisualScript models – BPEL & SMIL
New Drawing Dialog
VisualScript Explorer
Docked Libraries

33. Real World Use Cases BPEL, BPSS, & more Demo
Open and generate sample VisualScript models – BPEL & SMIL
New Drawing Dialog
VisualScript Explorer
Docked Libraries

34. BPSS Demo Add script to conceptual objects Hierarchy Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

35. Use Cases - BPSS
Uses a pre-built Model
Automatic Hierarchy
with Swim Lanes
Symbols represent
real-world ideas like
Business Documents

36. BPEL Demo Add script to conceptual objects Hierarchy Statement Order
Headers & Footers
Automatic Hierarchy
Connectors
Swim Lanes
Defining Fields & Expressions
Validate, Build & Run

37. Use Cases - BPEL
Uses Multiple
Languages
Uses automatically
built list boxes
Links between
WSDL and BPEL

38. Author Your Own XML Solution
Automatic Compliance: Build Your Own Model
Open system—work in any language!
Insulate the end-user and empower them
to build well-formed XML
Create re-usable XML statements
Collaboration: Easily Package and Distribute Models
Like sharing Financial models in Excel
Quick Start: Use Built-in Model Templates
VisualScript includes model templates
to help you get started
The beauty of VisualScript is that it’s completely open. You can create any kind of model you want, in any kind of language, or even make up a new language. It’s completely programmable in any way you like.
Visual Scripting encodes the knowledge of a process in a visual form – in a picture. The structure of that picture is the process. Anyone can look at it and understand it, without knowing anything about XML.
And as we mentioned, you can take a single model and program the symbols to generate a script in any number of languages. Just flip a switch and your output script is in BPEL instead of BPSS.
VisualScript helps you collaborate with business people AND with other developers. Your symbols and models can be packaged and shared. Anyone can re-use them anywhere. It’s just like accountants who create financial models in Excel and then share them with other accountants. You can spread your XML models around the world to spread your standard.
Finally, VisualScript makes it easy for you to get started. There are dozens of built-in models, templates, and examples for all kinds of different XML applications. Just open one of these as your starting point, and you’re underway.

39. You are limited only by your own ingenuity!
What else can it do?
Schema, XSLT, RSS, WSDL,
BPEL, ebXML BPSS, CPA, BODs, UBL…

40. Questions Now you can try it yourself. Here’s how:
Go to VisualScript.com
Download the software and try it out for free
Let us know what you like or don’t like – we want your feedback!
Finally, tell other developers about it. It’s that collaboration that makes it all pay off, and that lets you shape the future of XML.

41. Survey Now you can try it yourself. Here’s how: Go to VisualScript.com
Download the software and try it out for free
Let us know what you like or don’t like – we want your feedback!
Finally, tell other developers about it. It’s that collaboration that makes it all pay off, and that lets you shape the future of XML.

42. Visual Scripting
Paul Stannard: David Webber: