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<title>Parameter Catalogs for Simulation</title>
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<body class="article">
<div id="header">
<h1>Parameter Catalogs for Simulation</h1>
<div class="details">
<span id="author" class="author">Kai-Holger Brassel, Hamburg, &lt;mail@khbrassel.de&gt;</span><br>
</div>
<div id="toc" class="toc">
<div id="toctitle">Table of Contents</div>
<ul class="sectlevel1">
<li><a href="#trueintroduction">Introduction</a>
<ul class="sectlevel2">
<li><a href="#truethe-bigger-picture">The Bigger Picture</a></li>
<li><a href="#truelessons-learned">Lessons Learned</a></li>
<li><a href="#truelow-code-development-of-parameter-catalogs">Low-Code-Development of Parameter Catalogs</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#truehow-to-implement-parameter-catalogs-with-eclipse">How to Implement Parameter Catalogs with Eclipse</a>
<ul class="sectlevel2">
<li><a href="#trueeclipse-basics">Eclipse Basics</a></li>
<li><a href="#truesetup-eclipse-modeling-tools">Setup Eclipse Modeling Tools</a></li>
<li><a href="#truemodeling-parameter-catalogs-for-simulation-with-ecore">Modeling Parameter Catalogs for Simulation with Ecore</a></li>
<li><a href="#truegeneration-of-java-code-from-data-model">Generation of Java Code from Data Model</a></li>
<li><a href="#truegeneration-and-tweaking-of-user-interface">Generation and Tweaking of User Interface</a></li>
<li><a href="#truebonus-solutions-for-specific-modeling-problems">Bonus: Solutions for Specific Modeling Problems</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#trueaccessing-and-using-parameter-catalogs">Accessing and Using Parameter Catalogs</a>
<ul class="sectlevel2">
<li><a href="#trueaccessing-xml-catalogs">Accessing XML-Catalogs</a></li>
<li><a href="#truecreate-insel-models-with-handlebars-templates">Create Insel Models with Handlebars Templates</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#truebuild-parameter-catalog-applications-with-eclipse-tycho">Build (Parameter Catalog) Applications with Eclipse Tycho</a>
<ul class="sectlevel2">
<li><a href="#truecreate-an-eclipse-application">Create an Eclipse Application</a></li>
<li><a href="#trueuse-maven-and-tycho-as-build-system">Use Maven and Tycho as Build System</a></li>
<li><a href="#truedeploy-to-p2-repository">Deploy to P2 Repository</a></li>
<li><a href="#trueversioning-and-collaboration">Versioning and Collaboration</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="content">
<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>This work by Kai-Holger Brassel, Hamburg, is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0"">CC BY-NC-ND 4.0</a>
<span class="image"><img src="https://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/icons/cc.svg" alt="cc" width="20"></span>
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<span class="image"><img src="https://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/icons/nc.svg" alt="nc" width="20"></span>
<span class="image"><img src="https://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/icons/nd.svg" alt="nd" width="20"></span></p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Version: October 19<sup>th</sup>, 2020.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="trueintroduction"><a class="anchor" href="#trueintroduction"></a>Introduction</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="admonitionblock important">
<table>
<tr>
<td class="icon">
<i class="fa icon-important" title="Important"></i>
</td>
<td class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>This introduction talks about the work of the author and others, but without bibliographic references. Currently, it is just meant as background to better understand the technical documentation in the sections to follow.
Maybe it could be developed into a more serious paper later.</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The overall motivation for the work on parameter catalogs for simulation is to make easier to develop and perform computer simulations in complex and <em>data rich</em> domains like building physics, transportation, and all kinds of urban infrastructure.</p>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="truethe-bigger-picture"><a class="anchor" href="#truethe-bigger-picture"></a>The Bigger Picture</h3>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>A good part of computer science was and is driven by the motivation to make it easier to develop computer programs of all sorts.
"Higher" programming languages were invented to make programs human readable and soon special constructs for <em>functional programming</em> (computation without side effects) and <em>structured programming</em> (computation without go to statements) were introduced to help programmers writing and understanding ever growing programs.
Then, between 1962 and 1967, program language Simula was developed especially to deal with the challenges of simulating systems comprising of many different types of objects.
This opened the door to more direct computer representations of real world objects, their attributes, relationships and behavior, ultimately leading to <em>object-oriented</em> software development that today is embodied in programming languages like Java, C++, Python, and graphical notations like the  Unified Modeling Language (UML).</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>While these achievements had boosted the productivity of software developers, still the creation of correct, efficient and maintainable programs&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;including simulations&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;required a big deal of expert knowledge and experience.
To overcome this bottleneck, starting in the 70s, so called 4th generation languages entered the stage.
These languages were tailored to specific tasks like statistics ("S" 1976, "R" being its successor), database programming (SQL 1979), or simulation (MATLAB around 1979, Mathematica 1988, Modellica 1999) to name a few.
By sacrificing generality, these special languages become more accessible to domain experts, not just trained software developers.
To flatten the learning curve even more, formal <em>graphical</em> languages for special purposes were invented, e.g. Simulink for block diagram simulation models in 1984, Entity-Relationship-Diagrams for data modeling in 1976, UML for object-oriented systems design in the 1990s, or graphical languages to specify business and also scientific workflows around 2000.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>This very short history of technologies for development of software in general, and simulations in particular, shall illuminate the tools at our disposal:</p>
</div>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>general purpose programming languages that combine structured, functional and object-oriented approaches to enable the creation of big, modular software systems, often called "programming in the large"</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>formal textual domain specific languages (DSLs) dedicated to solve specific tasks with ease</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>formal graphical DSLs.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="exampleblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Note that DSLs more tend to describe <em>what</em> shall be achieved by a computation instead of describing in detail, <em>how</em> to achieve it.
Therefore, DSLs usually look more like a model than like an algorithm.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Now back to the task at hand.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Some domains deal with a few types of simple objects to be simulated.
Take the building blocks of an electric circuit as an example.
The algorithms to simulate these correctly and efficiently may be quite complex&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;the model elements usually can be described by very few parameters like resistance or capacity.
More complex domains like (regenerative) energy systems or building physics deal with more complex objects to be simulated, e.g. PV modules or layered walls of buildings, often coming in different types and configurations, and dozens of possibly interdependent parameters.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="truelessons-learned"><a class="anchor" href="#truelessons-learned"></a>Lessons Learned</h3>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>First a note on terminology: Instead of <em>parameter catalogs</em> in SimStadt we used term <em>library</em> like in <em>building physics library</em>. Obviously this was not a good choice, since <em>library</em> is used a lot in IT and programming with all sorts of meaning. Instead we started to talk about <em>data catalogs</em>, but in data science this term has specific meaning, namely: catalogs of data and data sources.
Since our catalogs, first of all, shall grant structured access to parameters for simulated entities <em>parameter catalog</em> sounds more appropriate to me.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The problem of navigating huge parameter spaces and assembling complex simulation models popped up as the author worked on a diagram editor for <strong>INSEL</strong>, a simulation language and runtime environment developed for renewable energy systems simulation.
To make existing catalogs on weather data, solar panels and inverter modules accessible to the modeler, special dialogs were added to the INSEL user interface that allowed browsing through the catalogs.
Using this browsers, the modeler would choose a weather station, panel or inverter to parameterize a corresponding INSEL function-block.
However, there are some severe disadvantages with this approach:</p>
</div>
<div class="olist arabic">
<ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>Parameter catalogs were stored in a proprietary data format on disk within the INSEL application distribution, meaning they could not used independently from INSEL by other interested parties (systems or users).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The catalogs have to be maintained by editing text files manually.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>While INSEL modeler could browse the catalogs, searching and sorting were not supported.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Development of Java Swing UIs for the different kind of catalogs is time consuming as is their maintenance, e.g. if a catalog data format were to change.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Putting UIs to handle big amounts of data into a diagram editor is not very user friendly.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>From 2013 to 2016, the simulation platform <strong>SimStadt</strong> was developed to make specific modeling and simulation workflows accessible to experts in urban planning and energy systems.
Using INSEL and other simulators under the hood, the usage of 3D city data, provided as CityGML files, was a core requirement of this project.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>To enable simulation of, say, the heating demand of a district, geometric building data had to be enriched with data on building physics and usage.
To do so, existing informations about building physics and usage&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;often only available as informal typologies or tables&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;had to be provided to the SimStadt user on an abstract level, e.g. to choose between refurbishment scenarios.
At the same time, specific building configurations and parameter sets had to be injected into the simulation models to obtain the desired results.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Again, we implemented parameter catalogs to fulfill these requirements, but compared to the quite simple catalogs used in INSEL, the data for building materials, window, wall and roof types as well as the typologies of buildings, households, usage patterns, and so on were more intricate.
They had to be created iteratively in collaboration with domain experts.
In this situation, manual coding data formats and access with a general programming language would have led to relatively long iteration cycles and high communication effort between programmer and domain expert.
Instead, we decided to use a DSL for data modeling and use code generation whenever possible.
Since SimStadt was developed within the Java eco-system we followed this standard approach:<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_1" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_1" title="View footnote.">1</a>]</sup></p>
</div>
<div class="olist arabic">
<ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>Developer and domain expert create a first version of the data model as XML Schema Definition (our DSL).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>For plausibility checks one would use any standard XML editor to create example data conforming to the XSD.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>With JAXB (Java Architecture for XML Binding) Java code is generated to read our XML catalogs into Java objects that, in turn, can be accessed by SimStadt workflows to generate and parameterize simulations.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>If required, developer and domain expert go back to step one to refine data model and catalog data.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>After the data model for building physics catalogs had matured, we developed a desktop application for convenient creation and maintenance of building physics data catalogs separate from SimStadt.
It was developed in Java with a user interface written in JavaFX and was well received by domain experts.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>However, as a different catalog&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;this time for building usages&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;had to be created, it was quite difficult to reuse the XML schema and application code from the building physics catalog: The usage catalog data model was "pressed" into a form similar to the building physics catalog data model, and the UI code was "over-engineered" to accommodate both catalog&#8217;s requirements.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="truelow-code-development-of-parameter-catalogs"><a class="anchor" href="#truelow-code-development-of-parameter-catalogs"></a>Low-Code-Development of Parameter Catalogs</h3>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>From INSEL and SimStadt we learned, that manual and automatic construction and parameterization of complex simulation models with many types of interrelated objects should be supported be the means of domain specific parameter catalogs.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Close collaboration with domain experts in designing and implementing these catalogs in short development cycles is desirable.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Parameter catalogs and the software for their creation, maintenance and deployment should be independent of any specific simulation software, (a) to be reusable and (b) not to overload simulation applications.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>In SimStadt, catalog development was partly facilitated by a textual DSL for data modeling (XML schema language) and automatic generation of Java code from it.
On the other hand, user interfaces and generation and parameterization of simulations from templates within SimStadt workflows had still to be coded manually hindering the routinely creation of new catalogs.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Now, in 2020, several developments in different projects provide an opportunity to re-think the topic of parameter catalogs for simulations, namely:</p>
</div>
<div class="olist arabic">
<ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>Plans for a new Urban Simulation Platform at Concordia University, Montreal.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>New implementation of INSEL user interface based on the Eclipse application framework and Eclipse-Sirius diagram editors.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Enhancement of existing building physics and usage catalogs from SimStadt and their adaptation to new regions.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Development of a new comprehensive catalog of electric systems components to be used in SimStadt as well as in Concordia&#8217;s Urban Simulation Platform.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="exampleblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>In what follows, the new technology stack used to implement (4) is documented in detail.
It uses four technologies to replace manual coding by code generation from models:</p>
</div>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p><em>Ecore</em> to model the catalog&#8217;s data and generate Java classes and persistence layer from it.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>EMF Forms</em> for modeling and generating tables, forms and buttons to <strong>c</strong>reate, <strong>r</strong>ead, <strong>u</strong>pdate, and <strong>d</strong>elete data (CRUD).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>E4</em>, the Eclipse way of modeling the application user interface itself, e.g. the placement and behavior of views, editors, toolbars, menus, and more.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A template engine called <em>Handlebars</em> to generate fully parameterized simulation models from textual templates without programming.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The new technology stack is rooted in the Eclipse application framework and eco-system.<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_2" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_2" title="View footnote.">2</a>]</sup>
Its main advantage is the possibility to implement CRUD applications like parameter catalogs and their underlying data models with no or very view lines of handwritten code (<em>low-code-development</em>).</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Plans are to use the same approach also for implementation of (3).
Since task (2) and maybe (1) will use Eclipse, too, close integration of parameter catalogs and simulation environments seems feasible.
E.g., a user could drag an electric system component from a catalog onto an INSEL block for parametrization.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The Eclipse application framework offers:</p>
</div>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>OSGI plug-in mechanism and UI framework for integrating applications and services</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>E4</em> application model to declaratively describe user interface&#8217;s structure</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>General notion of <em>project</em> with specific file types, help system, preferences etc.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>IDE support for important general purpose languages like Java, <a href="https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/pydev-python-ide-eclipse">Python</a>, Ruby, C, Fortran, C++</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Support for creating textual and graphical DSLs (<a href="https://www.eclipse.org/Xtext">XText</a>, <a href="https://www.eclipse.org/sirius">Sirius</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Industry proven DSLs and code generators for data models and form based UIs via the  <a href="https://www.eclipse.org/modeling/emf"><em>Eclipse Modeling Framework</em></a> (EMF) providing:</p>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p><a href="https://www.eclipse.org/ecoretools"><em>Ecore</em></a> for model driven generation of Java classes and persistence layers for XML or data bases</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://eclipsesource.com/blogs/tutorials/emf-forms-view-model-elements"><em>EMF Forms</em></a> for describing and generating form based UIs</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Mechanisms to adapt or extend data models and forms to special needs (e.g., we added quantities&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;that is numbers <em>with units</em>&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;to Ecore and EMF Forms, a feature very important for parameter catalogs)</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<p>Rich open source eco-system with lots of plugins and projects important for an urban simulation platform:</p>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>model server for distributed access and work on Ecore models, including model comparison and migration (<a href="https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/modeling.emf.cdo">CDO</a>, <a href="https://www.eclipse.org/emf/compare">EMFCompare</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>a <a href="https://pyecore.readthedocs.io/en/latest">Python implementation of Ecore</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>GIS: storage, processing, and visualization of geographical data (list of projects under the umbrella <a href="https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/locationtech">LocationTech</a>, e.g. user-friendly desktop internet GIS <a href="http://udig.refractions.net">uDig</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>workbench for traffic simulation (<a href="https://www.eclipse.org/sumo">SUMO</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>spatial multi-agent-simulation (<a href="https://gama-platform.github.io/wiki/Home">GAMA-Platform</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>scientific workflows (<a href="https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/science.triquetrum">Triquetrum</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>visualizations (<a href="https://www.eclipse.org/nebula/widgets/visualization/visualization.php">Nebula</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>machine learning (<a href="https://deeplearning4j.org">deeplearning4j</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>45+ projects in the area of <a href="https://iot.eclipse.org">IoT</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>&#8230;&#8203;</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>As always, all that glitters is not gold. When we go through the details below, some bugs and inconsistencies, typical for open source projects of this age and size, have to be addressed.</p>
</div>
<div style="page-break-after: always;"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="truehow-to-implement-parameter-catalogs-with-eclipse"><a class="anchor" href="#truehow-to-implement-parameter-catalogs-with-eclipse"></a>How to Implement Parameter Catalogs with Eclipse</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>To build a new parameter catalog from scratch, we first have to understand some basics about Eclipse, and then install the correct Eclipse package.
Thereafter, we can model our data with Ecore considering some best practices, followed by the generation of Java classes and user interface (UI).
We, then, will add some plug-ins to "pimp" our Eclipse installation, (a) to enable deployment of parameter catalog applications, and (b) to add units and quantities to the mix.
Some hints on special modeling problems and versioning parameter catalogs conclude this how-to guide.</p>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="trueeclipse-basics"><a class="anchor" href="#trueeclipse-basics"></a>Eclipse Basics</h3>
<div class="paragraph">
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(software)">Eclipse</a> was originally developed by IBM and became Open Source in 2001.
It is best known for its Integrated Development Environments (<em>Eclipse IDEs</em>), not only for Java, but also for C++, Python and many other programming languages.
These IDEs are created on top of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (Eclipse RCP), an application framework and plug-in system based on Java and OSGi.
Eclipse RCP is foundation of a plethora of general-purpose applications, too.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>First time users of Eclipse better understand the following concepts.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Eclipse Packages</div>
<p>An Eclipse package is an Eclipse distribution dedicated to a specific type of task.<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_3" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_3" title="View footnote.">3</a>]</sup>
A list of packages is available at <a href="https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/">eclipse.org</a>.
Beside others it contains <em>Eclipse IDE for Java Developers</em>, <em>Eclipse IDE for Scientific Computing</em>, and the package we will use: <em>Eclipse Modeling Tools</em>.
Note that third parties offer many other packages, e.g. <em>GAMA</em> for multi-agent-simulation or <em>Obeo Designer Community</em> for creating Sirius diagram editors.</p>
</div>
<div class="admonitionblock note">
<table>
<tr>
<td class="icon">
<i class="fa icon-note" title="Note"></i>
</td>
<td class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Several Eclipse packages can be installed side by side, even different releases of the same package. Multiple Eclipse installations can run at the same time, each on its own <em>workspace</em> (see below).</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Plug-ins / Features</div>
<p>An installed Eclipse package consists of a runtime core and a bunch of additional plug-ins.
Technically, a plug-in is just a special kind of Java archive (JAR file) that uses and can be used by other plug-ins with regard to OSGi specifications.
Groups of plug-ins that belong together are called a <em>feature</em>.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Often, a user will add plug-ins or features to an Eclipse installation to add new capabilities.
E.g. writing this documentation within my Eclipse IDE is facilitated by the plug-in <a href="https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/asciidoctor-editor">Asciidoctor Editor</a>.
Plug-ins can easily be installed via main menu command <code>Help → Eclipse Marketplace&#8230;&#8203;</code> or <code>Help → Install New Software&#8230;&#8203;</code>.
Some plug-ins may be self-made like our plug-in <code>de.hftstuttgart.units</code> that enables Ecore to deal with quantities.
These may be provided via <em>Git</em> or as download and have to be added to an Eclipse installation manually.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Git</div>
<p><a href="https://git-scm.com">Git</a> is the industry standard for collaborative work on, and versioning of, source code and other textual data.
Collaborative development of parameter catalogs benefits massively from using Git.
Git support is built into <em>Eclipse Modeling Tools</em>, the Eclipse package we will use.
However, if Eclipse needs to connect to a Git server that uses SSH protocol (not HTTPS with credentials), access configuration is more involved and may be dependent on your operating system.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Some users, anyway, prefer to use Git from the command line or with one of the client application listed <a href="https://git-scm.com/downloads/guis">here</a>, e.g. <a href="https://tortoisegit.org">TortoiseGit</a> for Windows.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>While it is required to get Git working at some point, we won&#8217;t refer to it in this document and, for now, do not cover the installation of Git on your machine or configuration of Git in Eclipse.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Workspaces</div>
<p>When you start a new Eclipse installation for the first time, you are asked to designate a new directory in your file system to store an <em>Eclipse workspace</em>.
Eclipse is always running with exact one workspace open.
As the name implies, a workspace stores everything needed in a given context of work, namely a set of related projects the user is working on as well as meta-data like preference settings, the current status of projects, to do lists, and more.
In case a user wants to work in different contexts, e.g. on different tasks, command <code>File &#8594; Switch Workspace</code> allows to create additional workspaces and to switch between them.</p>
</div>
<div class="admonitionblock note">
<table>
<tr>
<td class="icon">
<i class="fa icon-note" title="Note"></i>
</td>
<td class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Any plug-in from the original Eclipse package or installed by the user later will be copied into the Eclipse installation directory, <strong>not</strong> in any workspace.
Configuration and current state of plug-ins, on the other hand, are stored in workspaces.</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Projects</div>
<p>An Eclipse project is a technical term for a directory that often contains:</p>
</div>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>files of specific types for source code, scripts, XML files or other data</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>build settings, configurations</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>dependency definitions (remember the dependencies between plug-ins above?)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>other Eclipse projects.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p><code>File &#8594; New &#8594; Project&#8230;&#8203;</code> offers many different types of projects that the user can choose from, e.g. Java projects to create Java programs, Ecore modeling  projects, or general projects, that simple hold some arbitrary files.<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_4" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_4" title="View footnote.">4</a>]</sup></p>
</div>
<div class="admonitionblock warning">
<table>
<tr>
<td class="icon">
<i class="fa icon-warning" title="Warning"></i>
</td>
<td class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Files that do not belong to a project are invisible for Eclipse!</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The projects belonging to a workspace can either be directly stored within the workspace as sub-directories (the default offered to the user when creating a new project), or linked from it, that is the workspace just holds a link to the project directory that lives somewhere in the file system outside of the workspace.
Linking allows to work with the same projects in different workspaces.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>While it sometimes makes sense to share or exchange workspaces between users,<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_5" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_5" title="View footnote.">5</a>]</sup>, I do not recommend this for now.
Projects, in contrast, are shared between users most of the time, usually via Git.
In general, I would suggest to store Eclipse projects outside workspaces at dedicated locations in the user&#8217;s file system.
That way, we can follow the convention that local Git repositories should all be located under
<code>&lt;userhome&gt;/git</code>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="truesetup-eclipse-modeling-tools"><a class="anchor" href="#truesetup-eclipse-modeling-tools"></a>Setup Eclipse Modeling Tools</h3>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Install Java</div>
<p>Eclipse runs on 64-bit versions of Windows, Linux, and macOS and requires an according Java Development Kit (JDK), version 11 or higher, to be installed on your machine.
Even if such JDK already exists, please download OpenJDK, version <strong>15</strong> or newer for your operating system from <a href="https://adoptopenjdk.net">AdoptOpenJDK</a>.
<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_6" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_6" title="View footnote.">6</a>]</sup>
Choose <code>HotSpot</code> as Java Virtual Machine.
Installation process is straight forward, but you can also find links to exhaustive instructions for your operating system.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>New Java versions appear every six months, so one could tend to stick with older version 11 that comes with long time support (LTE) until version 17 arrives in autumn 2021.
However, actual version 15 conforms to the latest security measures built into macOS Catalina, so it is a must if software we build here shall be deployed to these systems, too.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Note that different versions of Java coexist peacefully.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<div class="title">Install Eclipse Modeling Tools</div>
<p>Now its time to download and install the correct Eclipse package <em>Eclipse Modeling Tools</em>, version 2020-09 or newer.<sup class="footnote">[<a id="_footnoteref_7" class="footnote" href="#_footnotedef_7" title="View footnote.">7</a>]</sup>
Please go to <a href="https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages">Eclipse download page for packages</a>.
On this page you may see <em>"Try the Eclipse Installer"</em> or similar.
Do <strong>not</strong> follow this advice, since we want more control over what versions of Java and Eclipse shall be installed.
Instead, look for package <em>Eclipse Modeling Tools</em> and follow the link for your operating system on the right:</p>
</div>
<div class="imageblock thumb">
<div class="content">
<img src="ParameterCatalogs2Images/EclipseDownload.gif" alt="EclipseDownload">
</div>
<div class="title">Figure 1. Download links for Eclipse Modeling Tools package</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Finally, you can click on <code>Download</code> and wait for the 400 something MB package to arrive.</p>
</div>
<div class="admonitionblock note">
<table>
<tr>
<td class="icon">
<i class="fa icon-note" title="Note"></i>
</td>
<td class="content">
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Depending on the operating system, several security dialogs have to be acknowledged during installation and first launch of Eclipse.</p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>The downloaded installation file contains the application simply named <code>Eclipse</code> ready to be copied into <code>Applications</code> on macOS or be installed in <code>Programs</code> on Windows.
Since later you may add other Eclipse packages&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;or different versions of the same package&#8201;&#8212;&#8201;I suggest to rename the application more significantly to <code>EclipseModeling2009</code> or similar.</p>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>After installation has finished launch Eclipse for the first time and you will see a dialog for choosing a new empty directory as its workspace.</p>
</div>
<div class="imageblock thumb">
<div class="content">
<img src="ParameterCatalogs2Images/SelectWorkspaceDirectory.gif" alt="SelectWorkspaceDirectory" width="500">
</div>
<div class="title">Figure 2. Initial Dialog to Choose a Workspace Directory</div>
</div>
<div class="paragraph">
<p>Again, more workspaces might come into existence later, so replace the proposed generic directory path and name with a more specific one, e.g.<code>EclipseModelingWS</code>.
The Eclipse main window appears with a Welcome Screen open.
It contains links to exhaustive documentation on concept, features and usage of Eclipse that might be of interest later, especially:</p>
</div>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>Overview</p>
<div class="ulist">
<ul>
<li>
<p>Workbench basics</p>
<div class="ulist">