3
<title> Wishes for TCM </title>
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<P>For a online sortable version of the wishlist please <A HREF="http://www.cs.utwente.nl/~tcm/database/wishlist.php3">look here</A>.</P>
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Version date : Jan 20, 2003.
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Last Update : Jan 16, 2003.
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Author : Henk van de Zandschulp
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--------------------------------------------------------------
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--------------------------------------------------------------
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Every wish has a sequence number and every wish is annotated with
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a priority 0, 1, 2 or 3. These priorities mean:
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(0): is done. These are listed in the file Wishlist.done in
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the order by which they are done.
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(1): should _not_ be done, with explanation why.
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(2): should be done (low priority).
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(3): should be done (high priority).
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Wishes with a 2 or 3 are real wishes. These wishes are in one of the
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A. Distribution and porting of TCM.
44
C. Features for existing editors. These have the sub-categories:
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C2. Only for table editors.
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C3. Only for diagram editors.
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C4. For specific diagram editors.
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C5. Only for tree editors.
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Wishes labeled 0 and 1 can be found in the file WishList.done.
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----------------------------------
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233(2) Make compilations for other Unixes such as HPUX, IRIX, AIX and OSF/1.
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239(3) Send announcement to every site/newsgroup that has info about TCM
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(or should have info about TCM) that TCM 2.0 exists:
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news:comp.os.linux.announce
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http://www.slashdot.org
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http://www.linuxtoday.com
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already listed, send update:
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http://www.icewalkers.com
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http://SAL.KachinaTech.COM
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http://www.appwatch.com
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http://www.freshmeat.net
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http://www.lesstif.org
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http://www.linuxapps.com
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http://www.fokus.gmd.de/linux/linux-softw-xappl.html
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http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/linuxlist/linuxlist
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http://www.execpc.com/lsm/LSM
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http://www.linuxlinks.com
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http://www.software-engineer.org
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http://www.objectsbydesign.com/tools/umltools_byPrice.html
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http://www.linuxberg.com
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http://download.cnet.com
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B. Building new editors.
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--------------------------------------
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* worked out further some place else in a requirements & design document *
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- Static Structure Diagrams (TSSD)
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- Use-case Diagrams (TUCD)
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- Activity Diagrams (TACD)
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- Collaboration Diagrams (TCBD)
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- Sequence Diagram (TSQD)
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- Component Diagram (TCPD)
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- Deployment Diagram (TDPD)
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C. Updates and extensions to existing editors.
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--------------------------------------------------------
114
--------------------------------------------------------
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007(2). The user can save a configuration file from TCM. Configuration
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changes will be stored in this personal file (.tcmrc) and these will
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be loaded automatically on startup of an editor.
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082(2). Tasks which only can be performed with the use of the mouse should
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also be performable by a keystroke (or a combination of keystrokes).
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088(2). Show/Save/Print the annotations of all (selected) shapes or cells
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at once (show in text-window, save/print apart from the drawing).
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139(2) Add extra entries to the configuration file tcm.conf for the
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user interface colors and fonts (instead of the separate file with
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169(2). Possibility to change the page margin width/height on printing
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(set the minimal distance between the diagram or table and the page boundary).
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186(2). Testing on name equivalence: ignore white spaces (space, tab, newline)
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at the beginning and the end of a name. Every sequence of more than one
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white space is equivalent to a single space. Uses implementation item 252.
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191(2). Combine all printer options in one dialogue window (instead of all
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these different menu items). I.e. printer name, #copies, print command (and
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other related commands), tumbled, duplex, banner etc. in one
142
194(2). Printing from a text dialog uses the external programm text2ps. This
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should be replaced by something more powerful, for the options of text2ps
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are rather limited (e.g. no support for colors, fonts or alignment).
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Uses implementation item 253.
147
195(2). All coordinates should be floats (real numbers) instead of integers.
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210(2). Make the menu under button-3 context-sensitive in the editor. In the
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"background" the current Edit menu should be displayed, but clicking button-3
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above a shape/cell, only a relevant set of commands for this particular
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shape or cell should be displayed.
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220(2). Specify colors also by red-green-blue value (instead of by color name)
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in the color chooser. Colors will also be written in the TCM files as
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"#RRGGBB" (because not every possible color has a name). Users can then
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specify a color by three sliders in the color chooser dialog (in addition
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to the current method of choosing colors from a fixed list of color names).
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The preview immediately shows the color associated with the slider values.
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221(2). Implement bubble-help labels with multiple lines of text (now
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we have only single lines).
164
229(2). Undo/Redo for Load and New. This means also that Load and New
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become command classes.
167
306(2). Undo/Redo for Update Node/Edge/Cell annotation.
169
243(2). Implement drag and drop of shapes and subjects (extension of the
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cut-paste buffer) between two different editor processes (now it only
171
works within the same editor process). It should at least work for
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editors of the same type and also for editors with similar subjects
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such the two tree editors and between the different table editors.
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244(2). Make a prototype of some simple code-generator from a TCM-file. It's
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a set of extendable parser+generator classes for the TCM file format that
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can be extended by other users with specific needs.
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Possible languages to generate are XML, HTML, C++, Java, SQL, ASCII.
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249(2). Set text font, text color and text alignment in the text edit
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window (= the text window used for outline editing).
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270(2). Read the fonts that can be used in TCM from a font definition file.
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This makes it possible to extend TCM with Palatino, Lucida and
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others that are not available on every system.
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280(2). File locking mechanism. A document file that is being edited by
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some editor can only loaded read-only by another editor process
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(overriding should still be possible and removing the lock too).
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284(2). New print option: print current (chosen) page in the drawing
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area or print all the pages in the drawing area.
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289(2). Cut+paste of (parts) of text labels via the Motif cut-paste buffer
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(just like you can do within the motif textfields such as the document
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290(2). Connection of TCM with BSCW (groupware) system.
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291(2). Startup online HTML user manual pages in Netscape from the
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300(2). Export to Fig format 3.2 instead of the older 3.1 format.
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296(2). Add possibility to export diagrams in XML format.
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308(2). All editors should be expanded with the UML Notebox symbol, which can
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be connected to all Nodes and Edges by means of a Dashed Line.
210
309(2). Add option to transform the Inline Editor into a Form Editor, adjusted
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to the Shapetype being edited. Default this option will be "Inline
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Editor", but can be set to "Form Editor" when needed.
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Every shape has at least a comment field. Some examples :
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For a relationship line, the following fields can be specified :
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Name / RoleName1 / Constraint1 / RoleName2 / Constraint2 / Comment
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For a class, the following fields can be specified :
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Name / Multiplicity / Stereotype / Properties /
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Attributes (list) / Services (list) / Operations (list) /
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Signal receptions (list) / Comment
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Each editable field should have a corresponding Liteclue help text
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310(2). Add possibility to export diagrams in GIF/JPG/TIFF/PDF format.
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311(2). TCM preferences file should be editable from within TCM.
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312(2). TCM preferences should be adjustable online within a single TCM session.
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313(2). Add possibility to merge all selected duplicate nodes into
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one (== first selected) node.
232
314(2). Show duplicate nodes with a number in their upper left corner,
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e.g. "(3)" or :"(3/5)" instead of "*".
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315(2). Option "Document | View Source" should always be possible. The source
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being viewed should reflect the state of the current document being
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edited, not just the state of the version last saved to disk.
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338(2). The menu entry to set and unset headers and footers is hard to find.
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Redesign the menu structure in order to give it a more visible position.
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343(2). Add small "Drawing Area Overview" Window to TCM editor windows
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(like the small "Desktop Windows" of some window managers at the
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bottom of the screen), showing the position of the visible area
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within the whole canvas.
248
C2. Changes regarding all table editors.
249
----------------------------------------
251
029(2). Span a rectangle of two or more selected adjacent cells to one
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large cell. The text will be aligned as if only a single cell exists.
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The text of the left-upper cell remains visible. The other cells will
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030(2). Unspan a spanned cell.
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031(2). Hide all text protruding ('sticking out') from a cell (when
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autoresizing is off). Some mark (e.g. a small arrow or scrollbar) should
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be added to the cell, indicating that the cell contains more text than
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032(2). Add a caption text at the bottom of a table.
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034(2). Row and column numbers should remain visable when a table is scrolled.
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Currently only numbers at the first and last row/column are displayed.
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136(2). Outer left column and uppermost row remain visable, even after
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scrolling (row/column numbers as well as row 0 and column 0 itselves).
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143(2). In the outline editor the text part of the edit window should be
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about the same width as the cell itself. In this way you can anticipate
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whether your changes will eventual result in a table resize or not.
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145(2). Fixed column width (only autoresize of row height).
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As an option all text protruding will be hidden (see 031) or the
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text height will be adjusted, eventually using some kind of text
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abbreviation algorithm.
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146(2). Fixed row height (only autoresize of column width).
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As an option all text protruding will be hidden (see 031) or the
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text width will be adjusted, eventually using some kind of text
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abbreviation algorithm.
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147(2). Pack table operation: apply autoresize to all rows and columns.
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150(2). Horizontal table split (the right part of the table will be placed
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below the left part of the table). As an option the left column can be
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copied completely too.
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151(2). Vertical table split (the bottom part of the table will be placed
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to the rigth of the upper part of the table). As an option the upper
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row can be copied too.
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152(2). Optional double text entry (with a slash) in cell(0,0).
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162(2). Table mirror-operation in diagonal running from the left top to the
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right bottom of the table.
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164(2). Implement fill colors for table cells.
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197(2). Implement line colors for line pieces.
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217(2). Implement text colors for cell texts.
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228(2). Underlined texts in table file format.
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264(2). Hide selected rows or columns (without deleting them).
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265(2). Show bitmap/pixmap (read-in from a file) in the table cells
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267(2). Make the drawing area so that it only shows the table.
314
It's not necessary to show much "white space" like in the
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287(2). Move/copy multiple cell texts in one command (instead of
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the awkward cut/copy+paste).
320
299(2). Export TCM tables as HTML tables.
322
307(2). Implement correct behavior when the number of rows or columns
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is 0 (by user commands or because this number is written into file).
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316(2). Add option to print additional table description.
328
C3. Changes regarding all diagram editors.
329
------------------------------------------
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035(2). Show all relevant attributes of a subject (entitytype, data process,
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relationship etc.) in a separate window, in which all attributes can be
333
edited. (Now you don't have to 'aim' at the attributes of a line by trial
334
and error before hitting for example the cardinality constraint you want
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to edit). This is an extension to the outline editor (which can edit only
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one attribute (=textshape) at a time).
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036(2). Extension to 035 in which you can select some referred subject (eg.
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the nodes of a edge, or the parent in a taxonomy). By clicking this
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in the edit window, a new edit-window will be opened for the referred
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subject subsequently.
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043(2). Whenever two lines lead to the same node (rectangle or ellipse-shaped),
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the nearest side will be preferred, even if the other side is longer or
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connecting to that side would result in a better line distribution.
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Adjust this in such a manner that the side selected can be connected to
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and results in a wide spaced line distribution between the two nodes.
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044(2). After appending a diagram, nodes with the same type and the same
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name should be shown as duplicates.
352
045(2). Set defaults in the config file tcm.conf, i.e. per editor and per node
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shape type or line type the following attributes:
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type name, subject type name, default size, bitmap icon, line color,
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text color, text font, text alignment, fill color (only node shapes),
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line width, text underlining, fixed name, has index label (only
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node shapes). This is an extension to 006.
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047(2). Annotations should be made visible as a comment text in the diagram,
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possibly connected to the subject with a dotted line.
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061(2). Possibility to show duplicate lines (with a '*' notation).
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204(2). Bezier-curves with more than two points.
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242(2). Don't let lines cut through their (name) labels. Leave a little gap
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around the name label.
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248(2). If 246 is implemented: Store separate font for each textshape. E.g. the
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list of attributes can have a different font/point size than the name
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textshape of the node.
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268(2). Set defaults within the editor per node shape type or line: node
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shape size, line color, text color, text font, text alignment,
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fill color and line width.
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272(2). Change the default position of the text shapes within
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a node shape. Each textshape gets some relative position inside
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the node shape such as TopLeft or BottomRight.
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273(2). Distribute node shapes command: selected nodes are positioned
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with equal distances.
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278(2). Selection operation to select the shapes of all nodes/edges
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279(2). Operation to make all the shapes in the selection invisible
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(generalization of Show-isa and Hide value types in TERD).
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282(2). Operation to make all shapes that represent a certain node
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or edge type invisible (such as "Hide All DataStores" etc.)
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283(2). User can specify which node shape types can have an
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index number label and which don't.
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285(2). Printer option in all hierarchic diagram editors: Print
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current level or print all levels.
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286(2). Extra command in context sensitive menu of a single
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shape: copy+paste in a single command to make a quick copy without
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affecting the cut-paste buffer.
403
294(2). "Move nodeshape label"-option. Possibility to move labels within e.g.
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a box. See also 295(2).
406
295(2). "Sticky label"-option. When set, after moving an line or one of its
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connecting nodeshapes, the label does not return to its default position.
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Instead, a new position will be determined based on its relative position
409
to the original line or nodeshape.
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297(2). Always display duplication asterisks within the nodeshape boundary.
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304(2). Allow lines to be connected to Bezier-curves.
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317(2). After appending a diagram, show all nodes with the same name as
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duplicates (only when duplicate names are not allowed).
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318(2). Add option : Show only the nodes having a connection to the selection.
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319(2). Add option : Show all "mouse-sensitive" parts of a selected shape.
422
320(2). Future wish : conversion between different diagram types.
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335(2). Add option to make 'mouse-sensitive parts' visible whenever the
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mouse is moved above an editable part of a shape.
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Show the editable part e.g. as a dashed rectangle and report the
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area selected in the status field (e.g. "rolename area selected").
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340(2). "Constraints on demand" : option to eliminate certain constraints during
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an edit session (see also
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342(2). When clicking inside an overlapping selection area of multiple elements
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it should be possible to select a specific element.
437
C4. Changes regarding a specific diagram editor.
438
------------------------------------------------
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042(2). TERD: Replace an entity type node by a relationship node, or
441
vice versa. Idem dito for entity type <-> value type.
443
048(3). TCRD/TSSD/TSTD: move attribute/operation to another position
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in the same box or arrow. Uses implementation item 246.
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049(2). TCRD/TSSD/TSTD: move attribute/operation to another box or
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arrow. Uses implementation item 246.
449
050(2). TCRD/TSSD: optional syntax check of attribute declarations:
450
'name' or 'name:type' (in check document?). Uses impl. item 252.
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051(2). TCRD/TSSD: optional syntax check of action declarations: 'name' or
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'name(type1,...,typen)'. Uses impl. item 252.
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056(3). TERD/TCRD/TSSD: add SubjectAreas / Packages (structure simular to
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hierarchic DFDs). Will be implemented as a special node type.
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This node type will be represented as an ordinary box (closed state) or
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as a huge box enclosing other shapes (open state).
459
Uses implementation items 177 and 254.
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057(3). TERD/TCRD/TSSD: Show/hide contents of a selected subject area /
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Package, i.e. go from closed state to open state. Uses implementation
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059(2). TERD/TCRD/TSSD: Contents of subject area/package can be printed
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per page. Uses implementation item 257.
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060(3). TERD/TCRD/TSSD: for every specialisation (static or dynamic) a
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so-called ``specialisation-attribute'' with a finite number of possible
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values exactly corresponding to the subclasses. For example a
471
specialisation-attribute ``contract type'' of an employee having the
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values ``temporary'' and ``permanent'', being two dynamic subclasses of
473
employee. The specialisation-attribute must be visible within the diagram.
475
063(2). TCRD: role class (player) (Discussed in course material Wieringa).
477
089(2). TERD/TCRD/TSSD: single document inheritance check for
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attributes/operations/components. An attribute/operation/component
479
should not be added to a class whenever a superclass or subclass does
480
already contain an attribute/operation/component with the same name
481
(mind the specialisation of an attribute: so only a warning will be given).
482
(remark: has already been implemented in CSOD).
484
157(2). TERD/TCRD: Show contents of one subject area only (hide the rest).
485
Uses implementation item 257.
487
163(2). TGD: Bitmaps or pixmaps as shape type (a box with a small bitmap
488
or pixmap that can be read-in from a file). Bitmaps are black-and-white,
491
200(3). TSTD: Optional syntax check for transition labels. Uses impl. 252.
493
201(3). TSSD: Optional syntax check for constraints. Uses impl. 252.
495
207(3). TSSD: show generalization/aggregations as a 'tree'.
496
Add a special view-mode, similar to the tree-editors, in which the lines
497
are neatly drawn. In order to achieve this, the view-mode should be added
498
as a functionality to libdiagram and the drawing algorithmes should be
499
adapted to all cases possible (within the tree-editors not all cases
502
227(2). TDFD,TEFD: Show/save/print minispecs (and other data-process
503
attributes) of all/selected data-processes at once. Similar to 088.
505
245(3). TDFD,TEFD: Implement hierarchic DFDs. Implementation based on 177.
507
247(3). TCRD/TSSD/TSTD: attributes/operations can occupy more than 1 line.
508
Uses implementation item 246.
510
321(2). TEFD/TDFD: Show external entity as rectangle (instead of square).
512
322(2). TEFD/TDFD: Allow bi-directional arrow between Data Process and
515
323(2). TEFD/TDFD: Option "create/edit indices" should be changed into
516
"view indices", allowing us to show or hide the indices. Indices
517
will always be created, but they can only be edited when visible.
519
324(2). TGD: Add Double ClassBox and Triple ClassBox icons.
521
326(2). TSSD: Enlarge Taxonomy Junction circle. Current circle is too small.
523
326(2). TSSD: Add multiplicity constraint in upper right corner
525
327(2). TSSD: Allow empty lines in attribute and operation lists.
527
328(2). TESD: Allow Participation Link to be drawn in both directions.
528
Rolename/Constraint can only be edited at Entity Type part of link.
530
329(2). TCPD/TDPD: Lower part in Component box should be "reachable".
532
330(2). TCPD/TDPD: To be merged into a new IMplementation Diagram editor: TIMD.
534
331(2). TIMD: (see 330 above): Add ClassBoxes to nodes icons.
536
332(2). TATD: Remove constraint on duplicate statenames.
538
339(2). TSTD: Allow multiple nodes with the same name.
540
341(2). TSSD/TCBD: Read-direction arrow should be scalable.
542
344(2). TSCD(/TEFD/TDFD): Add small "Navigation Window" showing the
543
location of the current document within the hierarchy of documents
546
345(2). TCBD: Block of messages should be movable.
548
346(2). TCBD: Empty message lines should be allowed.
550
347(2). TSSD: When connecting a generalization arrow to a generalization
551
junction the arrowpoint will disappear (turning the arrow into a
553
Implement the same mechanism for connecting an aggregation line
554
to a classbox or objecbox in TSSD.
558
C5. Changes for Tree editors.
559
----------------------------------
561
068(2). Represent tree-structure as an indented list in a text editor.
562
- With lines / without lines.
563
- With numbers / without numbers
564
(number is 1.location in tree, 2.unique id, or 3.user-assigned id).
566
069(2). Function refinement tree:
567
Indented list of function + annotation (meaning, permissions, source,
570
159(2). Conversion between trees in tree-structure and indented lists.
572
333(2). TGTT: Add possibility to duplicate nodes.
574
334(2). TGTT: Check for cycles with regards to duplicate nodes (See 333).
579
---------------------------------
581
235(3). Zoom in to a node in hierarchic editor (if there is no subdiagram,
582
create one). This operation shows only one level (subdiagram) at the time.
584
236(3). Zoom out to a node, i.e. show diagram of parent node. This operation
585
shows one level (subdiagram) at the time.
587
237(3). Go to diagram (including goto toplevel). I.e. show diagram with index
588
nr. X. Shows one level (subdiagram).
590
238(3). Automatic indexing (numbering) of nodes in hierarchic diagram.
592
269(3). Implement mechanism to select only one handle of a line.
593
I.e. when you select one line then you should click an extra time on one
594
of the line handles to make it the "most selected handle". Show this for
595
instance by making the handle bigger than the others.
597
070(2). Make Imakefile file for generating Makefiles for diverse
598
platforms (with xmkmf like under linux). Or use GNU autoconf/automake/
601
230(2). Implement Load, Save, New and Quit as distinct command classes.
603
235(2). Make libeditor (in particular class Config) independent from the
604
specific config items. This avoids recompilation each time a new config
605
item is added or changed. And also, libeditor should not contain the
606
options of each specific editor, as libeditor does not rely on specific
609
240(3). Look for bugs/memory leeks with purify so TCM 2.0 has no such bugs.
611
241(2). Remove class Code (all shape and subject codes and names) and
612
Toolkit (all editor codes and names) from libglobal.so and put it into a
613
distinct place. The rest of libglobal.so is totally application independent,
614
but these two classes aren't. Perhaps best thing is to put all codes
615
and names in a config file that's read in upon startup.
617
246(3). Implement the lists of text shapes in a class box or in a
618
transition arrow as 1 single text shape with multiple lines. This
619
makes layout and editing much more simple, as well as implementing
620
labels (attributes, actions etc.) that occupy more than one line.
622
250(2). Implement RoundedDoubleBox shape type in libdiagram (a DoubleBox
623
with rounded corners).
625
252(3). Implement all text syntax checks with flex/bison mini-parsers, just
626
like is done for CSOD and CED.
628
253(3). Generate PostScript from TextViewDialog/TextEditDialog by
629
using PSGrafport, instead of text2ps.
631
254(2). Implement CompositeNodeShape in libdiagram. That is a node shape type
632
that has a number of node shapes as children and visually encloses
633
these node shapes. This can be used to implement the
634
representation of subject areas (ER) and sequential composite
635
states (state charts).
637
255(2). Implement PartitionedNodeShape in libdiagram. That is a node
638
shape that is partitioned in a number of compartments (>= 1) with
639
vertical or horizontal boundary lines. Each compartment contains a number
640
of node shapes. CompositeNodeShape is_a PartitionedNodeShape
641
(with 1 compartment). PartitionedNodeShape can be used to implement
642
concurrent composite states in state charts.
644
256(2). Implement operations on CompositeNodeShapes and PartitionedNodeShapes
645
to show/hide the shapes that it encloses (so called Expand and Collapse
648
257(2). Implement possibility to show only a single CompositeNodeShapes or
649
PartitionedNodeShape and it's contents. So it can be saved or printed
652
263(2). Implement MultiBox (is_a Box). That is two boxes on top of
653
eachother. Used for representing UML multiboxes.
655
288(2). Each TextShape has as attribute the relative position in or near
656
the parent shape. The possible values are: Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Center,
657
TopLeft, TopRight, BottomLeft, BottomRight. Specific shape types have
658
a member CalcPosition(TextShape): Point that calculate the exact positon
659
of the Textshape given the specific shape's boundary and the size of the
660
textshape. This functionality now exists in TCM but it's very ad-hoc.
661
Also, implement the duplication asterisk as a textshape.
665
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doc/wishlist/WishList.html
