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Using the Index Viewer


In this exercise, you will practice on the Index Viewer. The Index Viewer is a dedicated tool that presents a graphical view of the definitions and references to SDL entities available in an SDL system. It manages virtually all SDL information related to a system and has a number of facilities for navigating back to the source SDL diagrams.

A prerequisite to this exercise is an up-to-date cross reference file containing the definitions and references, which was generated when you last performed a semantic analysis of the system.

If you have changed any of the SDL diagrams since the last analysis of the system, you should regenerate the file. Perform a new semantic analysis and make sure the option Generate a cross reference file is on (see Figure 77 on page 111).

What You Will Learn

Starting the Index Viewer

  1. You start the tool with the Index Viewer command from the Organizer's Tools menu and its sub-menu SDL. Select the sub-menu SDL and the menu choice Index Viewer.
    • As an alternative, you may click the quick button for the Index Viewer. You will then be prompted to save unsaved diagrams. The SDL system is then analyzed and a new cross reference file is generated automatically.
  2. The Index Viewer window is displayed. Start by opening the newly created file -DemonGame.xrf (unless you used the quick button, in which case the file is automatically opened).
  3. The Index Viewer reads the file, interprets the content and displays it in graphical form.

Figure 86 : The Index Viewer window

In the next exercise, you will use the Index Viewer to identify all possible situations where a certain signal may be sent or received. We will also look for the definition of the signal.

Finding a Definition

Let us look for the definition of the signal Probe. By default, the definitions in the window are sorted alphabetically, but you do not need to scroll the window manually to find a definition.

There is a Search quick button that can be used to find any text in the window. However, if you want to search for the name of a definition, there is an even faster way.

  1. Simply start keying in the name "Probe". When you start typing, a search is started on the names that are displayed in bold face. As you type each letter on the keyboard, the status bar at the bottom of the window indicates what text is being searched for, and the window scrolls to show the first matched name. After a few keystrokes, the Index Viewer window shows the signal Probe selected:

Figure 87 : Finding the signal Probe

The selected row shows the icon for a signal, the name and type of the definition ("Probe SIGNAL") and which diagram the signal is defined in ("SYSTEM DemonGame").
We now wish to see where the signal is defined.
  1. Make sure the Probe icon still is selected.
  2. From the Tools menu, select the command Show Definition.
    • You can also double-click the icon.
      An SDL Editor window is displayed on the diagram for the system DemonGame. The text symbol containing the declaration (i.e. the definition) of the signal is selected.

Finding References

Below the Probe icon in the Index Viewer, all uses (references) of the Probe signal are listed, including the icons for the SDL entities in which the signal has been referred. The information displayed in Figure 87 should be interpreted as:

To conclude this exercise, you will now locate the places where the signal is input.

  1. Select the input icon.
  2. The Tools menu should now contain the two menu choices Show Use 1 and Show Use 2.
  3. Select the menu choice Show Use 1- an input symbol is selected in an SDL Editor window, showing the diagram for the process Game.
  4. Select the menu choice Show Use 2 - the second input symbol is selected, also in process Game. These are the two situations where the signal may be input.
  5. Double-click the signal route icon. The signal route containing the Probe signal is selected in an SDL Editor window.
    • If you double-click an icon with more than one reference, the selection in the SDL Editor is automatically changed to the next occurrence. You may try this with the input icon.

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