Dr. Remco de Boer presented on SmartConnect, a tool for importing content from other modeling environments into a Semantic MediaWiki. SmartConnect uses a pipeline architecture to transform exports from other tools like ARIS into the SmartCore structure used by Semantic MediaWiki. The pipeline consists of components that read the export, map elements to the target structure, process elements, filter elements, and write them as wiki pages. This modular approach allows for customizing how different modeling tools' exports are imported.

1. SmartConnect
Dr. Remco de Boer
CTO @ XL&Knowledge
rdeboer@xl-knowledge.com
Consultant @ ArchiXL
rdeboer@archixl.nl
SMWCon Fall 2015
Thursday, October 29th 2015
Barcelona

2. 22
Semantic MediaWiki in a modeling environment

3. • SmartConnect™
– Import content from other
environments
• SmartBooks™
– Export content to ODF, Microsoft
Word, PDF, ePub, text
• SmartCore™
– Maintain content structure
• SmartPublish™
– Publish selected content from closed
(development) environment to open
(publication) environment
Interaction and integration: SmartSuite ™
Semantic wiki
SmartConnect
SmartBooks
SmartCore
SmartPublish
Semantic wiki

4. 44
Example connectors
• SmartConnect for ARIS
• SmartConnect for Archi
• SmartConnect for ArchiMate
• SmartConnect for BiZZdesign Architect
• SmartConnect for BiZZdesigner
• SmartConnect for Sparx Enterprise Architect

5. 55
Showcase SmartConnect™ for ARIS
SmartConnect
pipeline

6. 66

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Some details
• Data export:
– Report in ARIS creates XML file and accompanying diagrams
and metadata
– Special page in WikiXL platform import these files
• Pipeline architecture
– SmartConnect provides a pipeline architecture for
transforming an export from another environment to a
SmartCore structure
– Tasks performed by the pipeline:
• Reading in the export
• Filtering out unnecessary and/or unwanted elements
• Mapping and tranforming the source (ARIS) structure to the
target (SmartCore) structure
• Importing the elements as wiki pages
– Each step in the pipeline can be tailored towards customer
requirements

8. 88
Pipeline architecture
• Why a pipeline?
– Started off as monolithic extensions
– Maintainability issues
– Customizability issues
– Modularization!
• Added benefits
– Chain of Responsibility (decoupled sender and receiver)
– Adaptable behavior (through interfaces and inheritance)

9. 99
ARIS Model

10. 1010
ARIS Model

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SmartCore object model, the basis for pipeline
operations

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The pipeline components explained:
Step 1: Reader

13. 1313
The pipeline components explained:
Step 2: Mapper

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The pipeline components explained:
Step 3: Postprocessor

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The pipeline components explained:
Step 4: Postfilter

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The pipeline components explained:
Step 5: Writer (wiki serialization)
{{#element:
|Type=Process
|Name=Determine communication method used for service request
|GUID=8df946756…
|Leads to=Telephone used for service request (Event) – ac55090a…
}}
{{#element:
|Type=Event
|Name=Telephone used for service request
|GUID= ac55090a…
}}

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Interesting challenges
• Technical:
– Page renames
– Deletions
– Partial exports / imports
– Bespoke model processing rules
• Procedural:
– Compliance with modeling guidelines

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In conclusion
• SMW often does not run in isolation
• Most imports follow a similar set of operations
• Modularization takes advantage of these similarities
– Modular operations: pipeline
– Modular data: object model
• Future work:
– From import to export
– From model to metamodel (OWL ontology definitions to prime SMW?)
– From manual uploads to scheduled and real-time readers
– From SmartCore/SMW-writers to ‘any’ writer (not necessarily wiki)
– Semantic model validation?

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