Hello World

PRESENTATION

Embark on your MBSE journey by learning to model and visualize your first system with Papyrus, laying the groundwork for your exploration into complex systems engineering, where your first model and visualization await to bring theory to vivid life.

Prerequisites

Ensure your workstation is set up with Designer, Launcher, and Cygwin installed to fully engage with the modeling and visualization process.

Skills that you will acquire

On Designer:

Create a Model, a Project and a Service,
Add a Life Phase to a Service,
Create a Use Case and a User Story in this former,
Complete a User Story with flow and interfaces, internal activities,
Generate State Machine from User Stories and an associated C++ Code, as an executable,
Export a XML contening Types and Flows created in your model.

On Virtual Bench:

Login on Virtual Bench,
Import Types and Flows,
Create a Project and add Environments in it (HMI, Scene2D and Timeline),
Add a New Scenario,
Use Environment elements (Timeline action, Test Criteria, Text),
Add Model Instance,
Add behaviours between the bench and your model,
Run your scenario.

Duration

MODELISATION ON DESIGNER

Create a Model

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Start your model by establishing a new Designer project, selecting the CIL4SysLanguage for systems engineering.

Click on File > New > Papyrus Project

Select CIL4SysLanguage checkbox

Click on Next

Type the name of the Papyrus Project: HelloWorld, in the project name field

warning

Please ensure that there are no spaces in your model name.

Click on Next

Select CIL4Sys Full Project Template in the field: “You can load a template”
Click on Finish

Create a Project

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Define your system's scope by creating a new project within Papyrus, preparing yourself for detailed modeling.

Select HelloWorld in CIL4Sys Overview. You can use the Refresh View button when selecting the Overview tab.

Click on New Project

tip

Sometimes, the button does not appear because of the size of the window. You can either resize the Overview tab horizontally or use a bigger screen.

Type the name of the project: MyProject

warning

Please ensure that there are no spaces in your model name.

Click on OK

Click on Ok in the confirmation dialog box

Create a Service MySpec

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Add a service named "MySpec" to the model.
Explanation: We are adding the 'MySpec' service to represent a key functionality of our system, such as user management. This service is crucial because it defines how users interact with our system, directly influencing the user experience and the system's security.

Double Click on the MyProject Structure diagram. This will open the product composite structure diagram (CSD).

tip

You can resize the composite structure diagram by dragging the corners.
Composite Structure Diagrams allow the users to "Peek Inside" a product to see exactly what it is composed of.

Drag&Drop a New Service in the product CSD (the large box with the name of the product)

Select Create
Type the name of the service: MySpec

Click on OK

Add a Life Phase to a Service

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: *Define a lifecycle phase "Standard Use" for a service. *
Explanation: By specifying a 'Standard Use' lifecycle phase, we clarify the normal conditions under which this service is supposed to operate. This helps us model expected behaviors and prepare the system for robustness testing by visualizing real usage conditions.

By default, we suggest you two different phases: Standard Use and Visualization.

Select MySpec Package in CIL4Sys Overview (refresh if it does not appear).

Click on Complete Life Phases
Drag&Drop a New Life Phase in the diagram pane for relevant phases of the service

Select Standard Use
Click on OK

Create a simple Use Case

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Create a use case "say hello".
Explanation: The 'say hello' use case illustrates a simple yet fundamental interaction between the user and the system, where the system greets the user with a message. This use case serves as a starting point for modeling more complex interactions and demonstrates our system's responsiveness to user inputs.

Select Standard Use

Click on Complete Use Cases
Drag&Drop an actor on the diagram

Select User as the type of your new actor

Drag&Drop a New UseCase on the diagram
Type the name of the use case: say hello

Click on OK

Create a User Story in a Use Case

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Develop a user story within the context of a defined use case.
Explication: Crafting a user story within a use case allows you to detail specific user interactions, providing clarity on how features should behave and be experienced by the user.

Select say hello package in the CIL4Sys Overview

Click on New User Story

Type the name of the user story: say hello
Click on OK
Double Click on the user story: say hello

Complete the User Story

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Enrich your user story with detailed flows, states, and interfaces, and then generate a State Machine from all your user stories.
Explication: Completing the user story by adding detailed elements and generating a State Machine ensures that the dynamic behavior of the system is clearly modeled and executable, facilitating both understanding and implementation.

Drag&Drop a New State on the MySpec Service lifeline

Select FirstState
Click on OK
Rename the state after creation (in Active). You can do it just after the creation or by the Properties view of Papyrus

Trace a New Message between the User lifeline and the MySpec Service lifeline

In the Flow Selection window, click on Create a new flow

Drag&Drop a New Interface on the diagram

Type the name of the interface: I_request
Click on OK

Drag&Drop a New Flow in the newly created interface

Type the name
Click on Add Data
Type the name of the data: name
Select the type of the data: TextType
Click on OK

tip

A good manner is to create an interface per flow.

Go back on the user story
Trace a New message between the user and the service

Flow Selection with request_to_say_hello

Select the newly created flow
Click on OK
Trace a message between the service lifeline on itself (internal activity)

Click on Create a new Activity

Type the name of the activity: create_message
Click on OK
Right-click on the service lifeline
Select Edit > Create Variable

Type the name of the variable: message_to_say
Choose the type: TextType
Set an init value: INIT
Click on OK

Right-click on the create_message activity
Choose Edit > Complete Activity

Select C++ Code
Click on Next

Type the code to create_message:

message_to_say = "Hello from " + request_to_say_hello_name;

Click on Finish

Trace a New Message between the service and the user
Click on Create a New Flow
Drag&Drop a New Interface on the diagram
Type the name of the interface: I_feedback

Drag&Drop a New Flow in the newly created interface

Type the name: say
Click on Add Data
Type the name of the data: message
Select the type of the data: TextType
Click on OK

Go back on the user story
Trace a new message between the service and the user
Select the newly created flow
Click on OK

Select the data value: message_to_say
Click on OK

Select the user story in the CIL4Sys Overview

Click on Generate State Machine
Click on Ok in the confirmation dialog box

Drag&Drop a System Border on the Diagram
Select itsUser
Click on Ok

Drag&Drop a Lifeline on the Diagram
Select itsMySpec
Click on Ok

Drag&Drop a Entrying State Condition Mark on the MySpec lifeline
Select FirstState
Click on OK

Rename the state after creation (in Active). You can do it just after the creation or by the Properties view of Rhapsody

Trace a New Message between the User lifeline and the MySpec lifeline
Click on New
Type the name of the Flow: request_to_say_hello
Add New Parameter with type Rhpstring and Name name.
Click on Create

Click on Connect

tip

If the name is not change after the popup press escape

Trace a message between the MySpec lifeline on itself (internal activity)
Click on New
Type the name of the activity: create_message
Click on Create

Right-click on the MySpec lifeline
Click on Sim4Sys Designer > Add New > Variable

Type the name of the attribute: message_to_say
Choose the type: RhpString
Set an init value: "INIT"
Click on OK

Double Click on the create_message operation under MySpec

Click on Implementation
Type the code to create_message:

message_to_say = "Hello from " + request_to_say_hello_name;

Click on OK

Trace a New Message between the lifeline MySpec and the user
Click on New
Type the name of the Flow: say
Add New Parameter with type RhpString and Name message.
Click on Create

Click on Connect
Select the data value: message_to_say
Click on OK

Right Click on the Sequence Diagram
Click on Sim4Sys Designer > Statecharts > Generate transitions

Generate Code

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Convert your detailed state machine into executable C++ code.
Explication: Generating C++ code from your state machine directly translates your model’s dynamics into a programmable format, bridging the gap between design and practical application.

note

If you have the community version of Designer (free version), please build the executable via Hub4Sys as shown on this page

Before generating the code, ensure that the CIL4SysLibs are already part of the project.

If it's not the case, you must add the Libs in File > New > Other... In the new window, select Extra Libraries in the Sim4Sys folder. If you have a Pro access, you can add Sim4Sys Pro - Build Libraries instead:

Click on the Overview menu, thanks to the following icon:

Click on [Code] Generate and build in CIL4Sys Overview
Select MyProject
Click on OK

Select Cygwin GCC

Click on Finish
Click on OK in the confirmation dialog box

note

You can also compile with MinGW.
To do that, please follow this process.

Export a XML

Papyrus
Rhapsody

Action: Export the model to an XML file for integration with Virtual Bench.
Explanation: Exporting our model to XML plays a crucial role in preparing for simulation. This allows us to seamlessly transfer the model's structure and data to Virtual Bench, where we can simulate and test the system's behavior in a controlled environment. This step ensures that our design meets expectations before going into production.

To do so, in Overview, Service Tab, select your project and click on Export File XML.

Visualization with Virtual Bench

The final step is to export your model to XML and run it in a visualization. This shows how models can be used outside their native environment and how they move from modeling to visualization.

This section explains how to set up communication between your model and the visualization.

Log in to Virtual Bench

Open Sim4Sys Virtual Bench in your browser.
Sign in with your username and password.
On the Home page, find your sandbox project and open it:
- Double-click the project card, or
- Click the menu and select Run.

No sandbox yet?

Create one by clicking New Project. In the Project name field, enter e.g. "Sandbox your name" — the URL is generated automatically. Add a short description for the project, and check the option to open the project automatically after creation.

Add Model & Import Types and Flows

Action: Add the model to Virtual Bench and import the types and flows from your model.

Explanation: Adding the model and importing its data into Virtual Bench prepares the visualization environment so you can test and validate the system’s behavior under visualized conditions.

1. Open the Models tab and add a new model

On the project opening page, open the sidebar and click Resources. A new window opens with a list of resources.
Select the Models tab, then click the New button.

2. Configure the model (General and Connectivity)

General tab (): Give the model a name (e.g. HelloWorld).
Connectivity tab (): Set the path to the model executable file.

Finding the model executable path

To set the path: click the button, navigate to the folder that contains the model executable, then copy the path and select the file. Because of browser security, Virtual Bench cannot obtain the path from the file picker, so paste the path into the text field before the file name.

3. Import types and flows (Database tab)

Open the Database tab ().
Import types and flows from your design model into Virtual Bench by either:
- Dragging and dropping your previously generated XML file, or
- Clicking Browse File and selecting the XML file you generated earlier (it is in the HelloWorld\export folder).

Import summary

The summary lists imported types and flows, plus any updated or deleted flows. Expand the Data comparison section to see the details of the changes.

4. Confirm and verify

Click Confirm import to save the changes.
Open the Flows tab () and confirm that the imported flows are listed.

Environment

Action: Add HMI, Scene2D, and Timeline environments in Virtual Bench for visualization.

Explanation: HMI, Scene2D, and Timeline provide visual and temporal frameworks to observe system behavior. Each type offers a different view—user interface (HMI), spatial representation (Scene2D), and event timeline (Timeline)—so you can inspect and understand the system from multiple angles.

Steps

Open the Resources panel
On the project opening page, open the sidebar and click Resources. In the new window, select the Environments tab, then click the New button.
Add the three required environments
For this tutorial you need three environments: HMI, Scene2D, and Timeline. For each one: choose the environment type, set the name and dimensions if needed, then click Save.
See Adding a new context for more detail.

info

You can have only one Scene2D and one Timeline environment per project.

Add a New Scenario

Action: Set up and add a new scenario in Virtual Bench, defining the sequence of events that your model will undergo in the visualization.

Why: Creating distinct scenarios lets you simulate different interactions and behaviors under varied conditions. This helps test the system’s robustness and surface potential issues before implementation, so the system fits its future usage environment.

Steps:

After you have created your contexts, add a new scenario.
Name it as you wish, optionally check Open the new scenario automatically, add labels if desired, then click Create Scenario. The new scenario opens.

tip

Opening a scenario: Double-click the scenario name, or open the menu and select Open.

Add Model Instance to Scenario

Before defining scenario behaviours with controller elements, add one or more model instances to the scenario.

Steps:

In the right sidebar, open the Model instances tab and click the New button.
General (): Name the model instance as you wish and select the associated model. For this tutorial, use the model "Hello World".
Connectivity (): Set the IP address and port for the model instance. Use IP address 127.0.0.1 and port 9001.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Controllers

Action: Establish controllers between the types and flows defined in the model and their representation in Virtual Bench.

Explanation: The controller process aligns the elements of your model with the simulation components. This ensures that data flows correctly between the model and the simulation, allowing accurate analysis of system–user interactions and the detection of anomalies or opportunities for improvement.

Behaviour of `request_to_say_hello`

Add a behaviour so that the flow request_to_say_hello is triggered when the user clicks a button. Follow these steps:

Steps:

Open the Project Resources panel by clicking the Resources button in the left sidebar. Select the Controllers tab and click the New button.
In the window that appears, enter a name (for example, "request_to_say_hello behaviour") and click Next.

On the Event configuration page, choose the event that will trigger the controller. To trigger on button click: set Scenario element type, select Button element, and Release event. Click Next.

tip

Click the icon to automatically rename the controller event.

On the Sequence diagram page you can add the actions that run when the controller is triggered. To trigger the flow request_to_say_hello: click the Add lifeline button, place the lifeline on the diagram, and click to confirm. In the window that appears, select type Model and the model "Hello World". Click Create.

tip

Click the icon to automatically rename the controller lifeline.

Add an action from the controller lifeline to the model lifeline: click the controller lifeline and create a message to the model lifeline. In the window that appears, select the flow "request_to_say_hello", optionally set the name parameter (e.g. "John"), and click Create.

Click Next to open the confirmation page. Review the configuration and click Save to save the controller.

Add the trigger button to the HMI

Add a button that will trigger the flow request_to_say_hello. If the HMI environment is not already visible, select it from the combobox at the bottom-left of the page.

Click Add element to open the element library, find the Button element, and drag and drop it onto the HMI environment.

To attach the controller to the button: right-click the button and choose Controllers → Trigger a controller. In the window that appears, select Reuse, choose the controller "request_to_say_hello behaviour", and click Reuse.

In the next window, select which model instance will receive the flow (the button is already set as the event source). Select the model instance "Hello World" and click Save.

The behaviour is now applied to the button.

Behaviour of `say`

Create a controller behaviour so that the flow say (sent from the model) updates a text element. The steps below create and attach this behaviour controller in one flow.

Steps:

Add a text element to the HMI environment next to the button and select it.

In the right sidebar, open the Controllers tab. To show the flow say on this text element when it is received, create an Update controller: click the New button next to "Update controller" and choose Create.

Enter a controller name (e.g. "say behaviour"), then click Next. Set the event to Receive flow and select the flow "say". Click Next.

On the sequence diagram, the text element lifeline and an action are already present. To show the received message: click the icon to edit the action.

In the window that appears, choose the parameter to update. To show the message from the flow "say": select the Text parameter, set variable type, then select "Hello World say" and the message parameter. Click Edit, then Next, then Save.

Apply the controller by selecting the model instance that will send the flow. Select "Hello World" and click Save.

The behaviour is now applied to the text element.

Run scenario

Action: Run the configured simulation scenario and analyze the results to evaluate the system's performance.

Explanation: Executing the simulation gives you a direct view of how the system operates in a controlled environment. By analyzing the results, you can identify strengths and weaknesses, adjust parameters to optimize performance, and validate that the system meets the needs identified in the initial modeling stages.

You will now run your scenario and see your Hello message.

warning

If you did not set the model executable path in the project resources, see the Add Model & Import Types and Flows section.

Steps

Start the Launcher.

Connect to the Launcher. In the top-right corner, open the menu and select Launcher. The badge next to the menu shows the connection status: a red badge means the connection is not established; a green badge means it is connected.

tip

You can automatically connect to the Launcher on startup by enabling Automatic connection attempt with the launcher on startup in Preferences.

warning

The first time you run your model executable, Windows may block it. To allow it to run now and in the future: when the SmartScreen popup appears, click More info, then click Run anyway.

On the next screen, click Run anyway to run the executable

Start the simulation. Click the Play button. All open environment windows will be brought to the foreground.
Verify the result. Click the button element in the environment and confirm that your Hello message appears.

Refine your model continuously using insights from the visualization. This keeps the system effective and adaptable. Using data and feedback to improve the model increases its long-term value and helps it meet evolving requirements.

PRESENTATION​

Prerequisites​

Skills that you will acquire​

Duration​

MODELISATION ON DESIGNER​

Create a Model​

Create a Project​

Create a Service MySpec​

Add a Life Phase to a Service​

Create a simple Use Case​

Create a User Story in a Use Case​

Complete the User Story​

Generate Code​

Export a XML​

Visualization with Virtual Bench​

Log in to Virtual Bench​

Add Model & Import Types and Flows​

1. Open the Models tab and add a new model​

2. Configure the model (General and Connectivity)​

3. Import types and flows (Database tab)​

4. Confirm and verify​

Environment​

Steps​

Add a New Scenario​

Add Model Instance to Scenario​

Controllers​

Behaviour of request_to_say_hello​

Behaviour of say​

Run scenario​

Steps​

Next Steps: Refinement Based on Visualization Feedback​

PRESENTATION

Prerequisites

Skills that you will acquire

Duration

MODELISATION ON DESIGNER

Create a Model

Create a Project

Create a Service MySpec

Add a Life Phase to a Service

Create a simple Use Case

Create a User Story in a Use Case

Complete the User Story

Generate Code

Export a XML

Visualization with Virtual Bench

Log in to Virtual Bench

Add Model & Import Types and Flows

1. Open the Models tab and add a new model

2. Configure the model (General and Connectivity)

3. Import types and flows (Database tab)

4. Confirm and verify

Environment

Steps

Add a New Scenario

Add Model Instance to Scenario

Controllers

Behaviour of `request_to_say_hello`

Behaviour of `say`

Run scenario

Steps

Next Steps: Refinement Based on Visualization Feedback