Visual Scripting of XML

Introduction - Presenters David Webber drrw@smartdraw.com Paul Stannard paul@smartdraw.com 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

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

Why Visual Scripting? Part 1

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

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!

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

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.

Theory of Visual Scripting Part 1

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

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

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.

How VisualScript Works Part 2

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Visual Scripting Paul Stannard: paul@smartdraw.com David Webber: drrw@smartdraw.com