GUI Simulation using State Machines

By Gareth Tuckwell Consultant/Trainer at Sparx Services UK (Hippo Software)

This presentation looks at integrating commands into a GUI (Win32) design such that it can trigger signals (state changes) in a state machine. The state machine contains snippets of code to return information back to the interface. Executing the state machine instantiates the GUI design as an interactive dialog on the screen and automates the logic behind the interface in order to make the interface appear to work and simulate a prototype for an application.

Session Recording

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GUI Simulation Seminar Demo Published (EAP)

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EA Public Webinar Training

Questions and Answers

Is it possible to change colour object of Gui?

To the best of my knowledge, the GUI objects in Win32 are fixed colour. I had not tried to change their colour before and the few types I just tested out were unchangeable. This does tie with building a 'real' application in a development IDE, where you typically stick with standard colours for dialogs and windows, but then the MS Windows theme or an application skin can override the interface object colours.

What type of language is used in the code? Is based on JavaScript?

It is JavaScript, yes. Have a look here for a bit more info and a few examples:
https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/15.1/model_simulation/win32_dialog_simulation.html

Does IFML expresses navigation between UI elements / screens?

For anyone looking for more info: The standard Interaction Flow Modeling Language (IFML) became an official standard in March 2014 and is designed for expressing the content, user interaction and control behaviour of the front-end of software applications.
https://www.ifml.org/

Is there a possibility of distributing the simulation to a potential customer using the lite version? So, they can have a play with it?

Good question! I cannot confidently say Yes or No, but to the best of my knowledge, the Lite edition offers all the same features as the full edition of EA, but the user cannot change anything. On that basis, I would guess that Lite should allow simulation.

Is it possible to apply State Machine execution to Wireframes (namely, Web wireframes)?

I have just tried this out with a wireframe webpage design and it appears to work. My design only had 2 things on the screen, but I was able to connect a state machine to a web GUI wireframe design in exactly the same way as I do with the Win32 dialog design.

Which edition of EA is required to use the simulation language?

Different simulation features versus different Editions is tabulated here:
https://www.sparxsystems.com/products/ea/compare-editions.html
The minimum edition to get ALL simulation is Unified.

Summary of session:

Thank you all for attending the GUI Simulation presentation today and for the nice comments. I think I have answered all question above and I will tidy up the model I used during the presentation and post it in here on the files tab (at the top of Teams) later today, or tomorrow. If anyone needs more information on GUI design or simulation, these links should prove useful:

General User Interface Diagrams:
https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/15.1/model_domains/user_interface_diagram.html

Win32 UI Technology:
https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/15.1/model_domains/win_32_ui_technology.html

UIBroadcastSignal:
https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/15.1/model_simulation/win32_dialog_simulation.html

And if you would like to join me in an online 1-day webinar where I teach all this stuff and a few others things, in my same informal, friendly style, then book yourself onto the 'EA and GUI Prototyping Workshop' in June or July (or any of our courses for that matter!:
http://www.hippo-software.co.uk/pages/EAPublicWebinars.htm