Creating Specifications

A Facet is able to contain zero or more specifications - where each specification is able to possess a different structure.

When you create a new specification you can link it to one of the available SeCSE specification forms (essentially a user friendly way of creating one of the default SeCSE specifications), or you can create it within an editor. For the latter you need to indicate the notation type you intend to use so that the correct editor can be launched. It is also possible to link a specification to a Service Information Model (SIM) - this is a UML based description of the data model of the service. Currently a SIM is required if the SeCSE OCL-BM based specification structures are to be used (Exception and Operational Semantics).

When a new specification is created its XML content can be previewed within the Facet Descriptions window. The SeCSE specification forms will automatically generate this XML.

Importing Specifications

As well as creating new specifications, existing ones can also be imported as long as they are XML based. Specification files can be imported in two ways, either by using the Import button when a new specification is created, or by dragging the specification file into the Facet Descriptions window. Imported files will be copied and stored within the tool - no link is maintained to the original imported file.

Generating WSDL specifications

The SeCSE specification tool is able to automatically generate WSDL specifications from Java classes. This can be achieved by dragging the Java class file into the Facet Description window

Displaying UML

The SeCSE specification tool is able to preview simple UML diagrams within the Facet Descriptions window. For any specifications that are within UML/XMI format, the tool will try to convert them into diagrams that can then be viewed. It should be noted that complex UML diagrams can be problematic to convert.