Последние новости и блог от Arjan Molenaar (2025-01-26)
Gaphor 3.0 has officially been released, marking an exciting new chapter for this modeling tool. This update brings significant enhancements, particularly in the user interface and the modularity of supported modeling languages.
For a complete overview of all changes, you can check out the changelog or visit the Gaphor Release page.
As always, this release makes use of the latest versions of GTK 4 and libadwaita.
This release features a redesigned user interface inspired by feedback from a research paper published by the University of Mannheim. The paper, titled MBSE tooling for neurodivergent system architects (German), used Gaphor as a case study. By collaborating with the authors, the Gaphor team applied these insights to make the application simpler and more intuitive.
Key UI enhancements include:
Many thanks to Mareike Keil from the University of Mannheim for her invaluable insights and contributions.
Historically, Gaphor’s primary focus has been on UML, which served as the foundation for extensions like SysML (v1) and RAAML. However, the development of SysML v2 introduced new challenges. Unlike its predecessor, SysML v2 is not based on UML, prompting the need for a fresh approach.
Initially, the team attempted to create a shared foundation for UML and SysML. However, this approach resulted in fragmenting the UML model and added complexity. Recognizing the need for flexibility, Gaphor’s core was restructured to be modeling language agnostic. This transformation enables the implementation of diverse modeling languages, including SysML v2, ontology models, and ER diagrams, without relying on UML as a base.
A huge shoutout to Paul C. Brown for his guidance and support in making this shift possible.