EMF和GEF

EMF和GEF分别是eclipse下的两个子项目，主要是用于桌面程序的开发。

EMF(Eclipse Modeling Framework):  
            EMF is a modeling framework and code generation facility for building tools and other applications based on a structured data model. From a model specification described in XMI, EMF provides tools and runtime support to produce a set of Java classes for the model, a set of adapter classes that enable viewing and command-based editing of the model, and a basic editor. Models can be specified using annotated Java, XML documents, or modeling tools like Rational Rose, then imported into EMF. Most important of all, EMF provides the foundation for interoperability with other EMF-based tools and applications.

GEF(Graphical Editing Framework):  
            The Graphical Editing Framework (GEF) allows developers to create a rich graphical editor from an existing application model. GEF consists of 2 plug-ins. The org.eclipse.draw2d plug-in provides a layout and rendering toolkit for displaying graphics. The developer can then take advantage of the many common operations provided in GEF and/or extend them for the specific domain. GEF employs an MVC (model-view-controller) architecture which enables simple changes to be applied to the model from the view.

          GEF is completely application neutral and provides the groundwork to build almost any application, including but not limited to: activity diagrams, GUI builders, class diagram editors, state machines, and even WYSIWYG text editors. The Logic Example, one of the provided examples, is pictured below.