IBM ILOG JViews Maps

Features and benefits

Enhance Eclipse-based displays

Diagram displays are used in many business-critical applications, including business process modelers, Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram editors, and telecommunication network topology displays. Developers building these displays using the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) or as Eclipse plug-ins will need to rely on the features provided by Eclipses Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF) and the Graphical Editing Framework (GEF). Unfortunately, the Eclipse toolkit does not offer any services to automatically arrange diagram displays.

Benefit: IBM ILOG JViews Graph Layout for Eclipse automatically rearranges the nodes, links, and labels of diagram displays, making them more understandable by the end-user.

A full range of layout services

Graph layout is a complex technology, comprised of many sophisticated layout algorithms. Successfully applying this technology to make diagrams more visually appealing requires a full range of support services. JViews Graph Layout for Eclipse includes:

All common node layout algorithms, including tree, hierarchical, uniform length edges, bus, circular, and grid
Label layout
Link layout, with several unique algorithms and variants
Subgraphs
Support for animation, persistence, and editing features like undo/redo

Benefit: Developers save coding time and reduce risk, while users benefit from the rich user experience of the resulting displays.

Native Eclipse integration

A key strength of JViews Graph Layout for Eclipse is its native integration with the Eclipse platform. It has been designed to work seamlessly with the generic Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) and the lower-level GEF. More notably, it can also be used directly with the GMF.

In addition to its clean integration with Eclipses data modeling layers, JViews Graph Layout for Eclipse also works smoothly within the Eclipse Integrated development environment (IDE). Property sheets are provided for each layout algorithms global and local parameters, for example, and documentation and samples are all available from within the IDE.

Benefit: Developers familiar with the Eclipse environment will quickly be able to understand and use the features of this product.

Non-intrusive design

JViews Graph Layout for Eclipse is completely non-intrusive: developers who create displays using EMF and GEF, or EMF, GMF, and GEF can add the services of this product without changing their existing code.

Benefit: Developers can try the product without much effort. They can easily add it after their RCP application or plug-in is designed and test the results.

Highly scalable and flexible

Many algorithms on the market work well with dozens or even a few hundred nodes and links, but they often slow down and become unusable with larger sets of data. JViews Graph Layout for Eclipses algorithms have been calibrated to perform well with thousands of objects (nodes and links).

Benefit: Developers can be confident that their diagram application will continue to deliver a superior user experience, even with large data sets.

A prebuilt diagram editing tool

The product includes a full-featured diagram editing tool, based on GMF. It is designed to be a generic starting point for developers who want to build a diagram editing tool such as a business process modeler or UML editor.

Benefit: User interface developers tasked with delivering a modeler can extend and rebrand this editor, saving significant development time.