The importance of documentation in any software development project cannot be overstated. When it is lacking or of poor quality, it is a safe bet that the software solution itself is also of poor quality.
The technical documentation distributed with the Tensegrity Graph Framework provides both conceptual and reference documentation. Since this framework was designed and implemented for Java® developers, the documentation assumes that you can read Java® code and that you are familiar with a development environment so as to manipulate files and compile and run Java® programs.
This manual provides considerable information about the concepts and usage of the Tensegrity Graph Framework and paints the big picture. However, it does not explain every single interface, class or method that the GraphAPI provides. For more detailed information, you should consult the JavaDocs that comes with the Tensegrity Graph Framework.
This is a preliminary document. Although it has been reviewed for technical accuracy, it is not final. Tensegrity Software is supplying this information to help plan for the adoption of the technology described herein. This information is subject to change, and software implemented according to this document should be tested with the final Framework and final documentation.
This manual contains four seperate parts divided into several chapters. Each of these parts comprehensively describes one of the sub packages that make up the Tensegrity Graph Framework. The overall structure of the manual is as follows:
Part I - Creating and Modeling Graphs
This part introduces you to the basic concepts of the Tensegrity Graph Framework. It explains the key components that are needed to construct graphs and graph views. With this knowledge you will be able to create graphs, including nodes and edges, as well as their visual representations, in order to draw, arrange, manipulate and analyze them. This part also shows how to react to events that are triggered by user actions. Finally, the concept of attributes and their constraints, objects which can be attached to nodes and edges, is explained in detail.
Part II - Creating User Interfaces
This part explains how to build sophisticated user interfaces for graph-oriented applications using components of the Tensegrity Graph Framework. It provides several components and helper classes to support writing applications based on AWT/Swing or SWT.
Part III - Creating Applications
This part explains the use of the Skeleton Package. This set of classes provides the basis of a graph-based application by providing a standard user interface implementation which supports views, an element repository, a navigator, an attribute editor as well as toolbars and menus. As an application developer you simply have to add those features that are specific to your application.
Part IV - Under The Hood
This part explains the more sophisticated features of the Tensegrity Graph Framework. This includes APIs that an application developer will generally not use but that might help to understand some of the concepts and design issues of the API. This part also explains the use of utility classes that can be helpful in certain situations.
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