Information Modeling Using EXPRESS — The EXPRESS course by Peter Wilson

Introduction

This course will initiate any novice in EXPRESS modeling through a series of tutorials and exercises.

Competance in EXPRESS comes with training — learn it, use it, be fluent in it — just like any other language!

This course was originally developed in May 2004.

Course order

The following course order is suggested:

• Part 1: An Introduction. The "Ambiguities" and "Simple models" exercises can be used during this.

• Part 2: EXPRESS-G.

• Exercises

  • Split the audience into groups to develop EXPRESS-G models for the "Car Registration Authority" (egspec.pdf handout).

  • Get each group to present its model to the others. Present/handout egcarsg.pdf and egcarsx.pdf.

  • Allow about 1/2 day for exercises.

• Part 3: Advanced EXPRESS (advexpv & advexpvtn)

• Part 4: RULES (rulesv & rulesvtn)

  • (Can be skipped if the class is too bored)

• "Principles" (principlesv)

Overall about two days will be required.

Contents

General

Document sources have been written using LaTeX, plus some MetaPost drawings borrowed from the EXPRESS Edition 2 FDIS.

Teaching materials are in the form of PDF files. There is a single version of those that are intended as printed handouts. Materials intended to be shown on a screen to an audience come in two versions;

1. Filenames ending with v are for viewgraphs

2. Filenames ending with vtn are for the instructor and include notes as well as the viewgraphs (the font sizes in these are smaller than in the viewgraph only files).

Part 1: An Introduction

Output files:

• expv.pdf

• expvtn.pdf

Source files:

• expv.tex

• expvtn.tex

• exp.tex

Part 2: The EXPRESS-G Language

Output files:

• grexpv.pdf

• grexpvtn.pdf

Source files:

• grexpv.tex

• grexpvtn.tex

• grexp.tex

Part 3: Advanced Concepts

Output files:

• advexpv.pdf

• advexpvtn.pdf

Source files:

• advexpv.tex

• advexpvtn.tex

• advexp.tex

Part 4: RULES

Output files:

• rulesv.pdf

• rulesvtn.pdf

Source files:

• rulesv.tex

• rulesvtn.tex

• rules.tex

Part 5: Modeling Principles

Output files:

• principlesv.pdf

Source files:

• principlesv.tex

• principles.tex

Modeling exercises

• Handout: exercises.pdf (from exercises.tex)

• Answers: answers.pdf (from answers.tex)

Examples

"Example model statement: Car Registration Authority"

• egspec.pdf (from egspec.tex)

"EXPRESS-G example model: Registration Authority"

• egcarsg.pdf (from egcarsg.tex)

"EXPRESS example model: Registration Authority"

• egcarsx.pdf (from egcarsx.tex)

Supporting files

• Files *.sty are LaTeX package files

• Files with numeric extensions are metapost generated EPS for diagrams, files .mp and .mpx are also metapost related

• Files pl*.tex and ps*.tex contain LaTeX diagrams

Usage

Prerequisites

• latexmk

• Metapost (the mpost command)

Compiling TeX documents

Run latexmk within the tex/ folder. The provided latexmkrc should just work.

About the author

Peter Wilson, who created this course in his free time, is the creator of EXPRESS-G and EXPRESS-I, and editor for ISO 10303-11 Edition 2.

Peter can be contacted at herries dot press at earthlink dot net.

Copyright and license

Copyright Peter Wilson.

Openly licensed.