Do you know Ecore? Looking for a reference card?
A one‑page Ecore reference card—handy for EMF users and educators—explaining why the core model concepts still matter and how to use them today.
EMF and Ecore: The Building Blocks of Modeling
If you’ve ever tried to build software for complex systems, you know spreadsheets and hand-written docs just don’t cut it. You need structure, automation, and a way to keep humans and machines on the same page. That’s where the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) comes in.
At its core is Ecore. Think of Ecore as the “grammar” for models: it defines what kinds of things you can have (classes, attributes, relationships) and how they fit together. With that grammar in place, EMF can generate real, working Java code — not boilerplate you’ll hate maintaining, but code that keeps your models and your applications in sync.
So why does this matter? Because it means you can design your system once, at a higher level, and let the tools take care of the boring, repetitive parts. It’s modeling as leverage.
Obeo has been in this game since day one. We’ve built tools on top of EMF and Ecore that engineers actually use:
- Acceleo: turn models into code or documentation, automatically.
- Sirius: build your own graphical modeling tool without reinventing the wheel.
- EMF Compare: spot the differences between models, just like
git diffbut for structured systems.
These aren’t just toys — they’re used in aerospace, energy, rail, and even space programs. And because everything is open source, you’re not locked in. You can adapt it, extend it, or just learn how it works.
In short: EMF and Ecore are the plumbing. Obeo builds on that plumbing to give teams the tools they need to design, share, and evolve complex systems — whether on the desktop or, more and more, on the web with Sirius Web and SysON.
This hub collects the evergreen pieces: the Ecore reference card, design checklists, and articles on validation, queries (AQL), compare/merge, and diagram editors. If you create or evolve meta-models, you’ll find concise rules of thumb, annotated examples, and pointers to EMF/Sirius best practices that save time — and prevent bugs.
2023
2017
Talk Integrating Xtext and Sirius — Strategies and Pitfalls (EclipseCon Europe 2017)
How to combine Xtext and Sirius safely—integration strategies, pitfalls, and evolution patterns from the field.
Talk Eclipse Modeling Guided Tour — EMF Compare (EclipseCon Europe 2017)
Guided tour of EMF Compare—practical workflows for diff/merge at scale in modeling projects.
Talk Eclipse Modeling Guided Tour — EcoreTools (EclipseCon Europe 2017)
Guided tour of EcoreTools at EclipseCon Europe 2017—what’s new, who it helps, and resources to get productive.
Talk Eclipse Modeling Guided Tour — AQL (EclipseCon Europe 2017)
AQL in practice: writing fast, readable queries for EMF models—tips from EclipseCon Europe 2017.
Talk Integrating Xtext and Sirius — Strategies and Pitfalls (EclipseCon France 2017)
Lessons learned integrating Xtext with Sirius at EclipseCon France 2017—clean boundaries, robust sync, and maintainability.
Talk EcoreTools‑Next: Executable DSL made (more) accessible — EclipseCon France 2017
Making executable DSLs more accessible with EcoreTools—what it enables for teams and how to get started.
Paper Xtext × Sirius — White Paper
White paper on combining Xtext and Sirius—when to mix textual and graphical DSLs, and how to architect maintainable tools.
2016
Ecore.ecore using EcoreTools
Fresh, high‑res Ecore.ecore diagrams recreated with EcoreTools: for EMF users and educators; why it matters—clear visuals and how‑to tips to document the met...
Metamodel (Ecore) Design Checklist
Index for the Ecore design checklist series: for EMF practitioners; why it matters—quick one‑page reference linking both parts for everyday use.
Metamodel (Ecore) Design Checklist - part 2
Ecore design checklist (part 2): scalability and Java mapping tips for EMF modelers; for tool builders; why it matters—keep models fast, lean, and maintainab...
Metamodel (Ecore) Design Checklist - part 1
A practical Ecore metamodel design checklist (part 1): for EMF/Sirius tool makers; why it matters—get fundamentals right early to avoid costly refactors later.
Executing, Debugging and Animating your model
Animate, debug, and execute your DSL models with GEMOC + Sirius: for DSML authors and modelers; why it matters—see live behavior (with video) as GEMOC nears ...
Some news on the AQL front
What’s new in AQL for Sirius 3.1/Mars.2: for Sirius specifiers and EMF toolsmiths; why it matters—faster queries, Java‑extensible services, better validation...
2015
AQL - a new interpreter for Sirius
TL;DR: we’ve been working on a new query interpreter for Sirius which is small, simple, fast, extensible and bring richer validation. It’s been released for ...
Paper A Solution to the TTC’15 Model Execution Case Using the GEMOC Studio
Technical paper on executing models with GEMOC—what the approach enables and where it fits.
Paper Domain Globalization: Using Languages to Support Technical and Social Coordination (Springer)
Book chapter on how languages support coordination across teams and domains—why this matters for large‑scale engineering.
2014
Talk Sirius + Xtext = ♥ (XtextCon 2014, Kiel)
XtextCon talk on pairing Sirius with Xtext—slides and patterns for robust hybrid editors.
EcoreTools 2.0 - The Luna Revival
With Eclipse Luna comes a complete re-implementation of EcoreTools, the diagram editor for Ecore. This matters because EcoreTools is often the first step our...
Talk EcoreTools 2.0: The Luna Revival (EclipseCon North America 2014)
What’s new in EcoreTools 2.0 and why it matters for EMF teams—resources and takeaways from ECNA 2014.
2013
Eclipse Modeling Package - The Road to Luna
Since the last public survey, my primary focus for the modeling package was:
Talk EcoreTools 2.0 — The Making Of (EclipseCon Europe 2013)
How EcoreTools 2.0 was built—decisions, trade‑offs, and what it enables for modelers.
Introducing Eclipse Sirius
You might have noticed some signs of excitement from us lately, one being the following tweet:
2012
EMF Core does not change, but ..
Talk 15 EMF projects in 25 minutes (EclipseCon Europe 2012)
Fast tour of nice and fun EMF projects, what they solve and when to use them.
Talk Tutorial — Building a Webapp Generator with Eclipse Modeling (BreizhCamp 2012)
Hands‑on tutorial: generate webapps (backbone.js, …) with Eclipse Modeling—who benefits and what you need.
Talk Your custom modeling environment definition made easy. At last! (EclipseCon 2013, Boston)
Defining custom modeling environments with Eclipse technologies—patterns to keep them robust and evolvable.
Graphical, textual, table, trees, its your call, to us its just EMF models
Lately I’ve been making sure the upcoming Designer 6.0 release still plays well with Xtext. Results: fairly good. The newly introduced “Modeling Project” let...
Talk Understanding Eclipse Modeling (Eclipse Day Toulouse 2012)
An introduction to Eclipse Modeling—core ideas, components, and how they fit together.
2011
Do you want to discard this editor's changes ?
If you’ve used EMF editors you probably already have seen this kind of dialog:
Model Transformation Preview
Let’s say you have a model-to-model transformation, and you want to provide the ability for the end-user to see and control what is going to be applied on th...
Talk Mylyn meets Intent: Documentation made fun and useful (EclipseCon Europe 2011)
Bringing documentation into the development loop—Mylyn and Intent integration patterns.
Talk What the heck is Eclipse Modeling and why should you care! (EclipseDay Paris 2011)
Intro to Eclipse Modeling—what problems it solves and where to start.
2010
Sequence Diagrams for your DSL's
Obeo Designer 5.0 sneak peek—cleaner diagram UI, embedded toolbars, quick outline for diagrams, and a demo for sequence‑style DSLs.
Compare/Helios - Every Second Counts
EMF Compare performance sprint for Helios—much faster matching and lower memory on large models, with data and what’s next.
Diff, Merge and Patch your Models with Helios
A practical tour of EMF Compare in Helios—semantic diff/merge, Team integration, and how the matching engine scales for real model workflows.
Ecore In Colors (In Motion)
A short demo of Ecore In Colors showing VSM‑driven interactions and the resulting modeler—for Ecore users curious about richer, interactive tooling.
Talk Diff, Merge and Patch your models with Helios (EclipseCon 2010)
Using EMF Compare in Helios to diff/merge models—practical guidance and resources.
2009
Talk From Acceleo.org to Eclipse Modeling (Eclipse Summit Europe 2009)
Journey from Acceleo.org to Eclipse Modeling—lessons for open tooling and communities.
The 09/09/09 09:09 0.9.0 Release
A numerically auspicious Acceleo 0.9 I‑build and ESE talk lineup—for Acceleo users tracking milestones and planning to meet in Ludwigsburg.
Feedback from IT companies leveraging Acceleo
Real‑world feedback from Capgemini, Atos, Orange, Bull on Acceleo—for IT leaders and dev teams weighing model‑driven approaches for agility and quality.
Eclipse Acceleo Day is going on...
Live notes from Eclipse Acceleo Day at LSM—for Eclipse/modeling practitioners following community news, sessions, and takeaways as they happen.
Viewpoints-enabled Modeling Tools
Viewpoints‑enabled modeling that shows only what matters—for system designers who need focused representations and actions aligned to current concerns.
The 20 minute Graphical Modeler based on Eclipse
Build a working graphical modeler in ~20 minutes on Eclipse Modeling—for tool builders who need fast iteration, conditional styles, and live feedback.
Live Models Using JBoss Rules (Drools) and EMF
Live EMF models driven by Drools rules—for modelers and architects who want instantaneous, quantitative feedback on design quality during editing.
Talk Team Work with Models: Compare and Merge with EMF Compare in Galileo (EclipseCon 2009)
Collaborating on EMF models with EMF Compare—workflows and tips for teams.
2008
Paper Model differences in the Eclipse Modeling Framework (UPGRADE Journal, 2008)
Journal article on model differencing in EMF—foundations and implications for tooling.
Talk Mega Modeling Mania (EclipseCon 2008)
Hands‑on modeling challenge—resources and context for the EclipseCon 2008 Mega Modeling Mania.
Talk Les outils MDA Open Source: Application à JEE (Solutions Linux 2008)
Open‑source MDA tools applied to JEE—context and resources from Solutions Linux 2008.
2007
Talk Setting up a Domain Specific Tooling (Eclipse Summit Europe 2007)
Return of experience in building a complete set of graphical modelers using the Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF).
Talk EMF Compare: One Year Later (Eclipse Summit Europe 2007)
EMF Compare after its first year—progress and what’s next.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Leonardo Da Vinci was damn right about it, and Acceleo 2.0 is just another step in the right direction. As planned we released this new stable version today....
EMF Compare now uses XMI_ID
The generic EMF comparison engine uses statistics in order to match elements. It compares their content, their type, the relations with other objects and the...
XML files comparison/merge
On the EMFT mailing-list, Martin Taal asked me if EMF compare component was useful when one has to handle XML files.
Talk Model Comparison Panel (EclipseCon 2007)
Panel on model comparison—state, challenges, and directions from EclipseCon 2007.
Talk Acceleo, un générateur open source pour des développements dirigés par les modèles (Solutions Linux 2007)
Acceleo for model‑driven development—slides from Solutions Linux 2007.
2006
Talk Ingénierie des Modèles 2006 (IDM, Lille)
Talk at Ingénierie des Modèles 2006—slides and context.