An Algorithmic Framework for Visualizing Statecharts
R. Castelló5
, R. Mili5
and I. G. Tollis5 
| (5) |
Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688, Richardson, TX 75083-0688, USA |
Abstract
Statecharts [9] are widely used for the requirements specification of reactive systems. In this paper, we present a framework for the automatic
generation of layouts of statechart diagrams. Our framework is based on several techniques that include hierarchical drawing,
labeling, and floorplanning, designed to work in a cooperative environment. Therefore, the resulting drawings enjoy several
important properties: they emphasize the natural hierarchical decomposition of states into substates; they have a low number
of edge crossings; they have good aspect ratio; and require a small area. We have implemented our framework and obtained drawings
for several statechart examples. The preliminary drawings are very encouraging.
Research supported in part by Sandia National Labs and by the Texas Advanced Research Program under grant number 009741-040.
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