Capella (engineering)

Last updated
Capella
Developer(s) PolarSys [1] Industry Working Group of the Eclipse Foundation
Stable release
7.0.0 [2]
Repository
Written in Java
Platform Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Type Model Driven Architecture
License Eclipse Public License
Website mbse-capella.org

Capella is an open-source solution for model-based systems engineering (MBSE). Hosted at polarsys.org, this solution provides a process and tooling for graphical modeling of systems, hardware or software architectures, in accordance with the principles and recommendations defined by the Arcadia method. Capella is an initiative of PolarSys, one of several Eclipse Foundation working groups.

Contents

Usage

Capella is mainly used for modeling complex and safety-critical systems in embedded systems development for industries such as aerospace, avionics, transportation, space, communications and security and automotive.

History

Capella was created by Thales in 2007, and has been under continuous development and evolution since then. The objective is to contribute to the transformation of engineering, providing an engineering environment which approach is based on models rather than focused on documents, piloted by a process, and offering, by construction, ways to ensure effective co-engineering. Operational experts from engineering then defined a unified language for modeling architectures in the group and specified the associated tooling, Capella.

Capella provides ergonomics that are similar to PowerPoint / Visio and Excel tools. Hence, the resulting environment is actually intuitive and allows engineers to focus on defining their architectures instead of learning and operating complex generic modeling languages, such as UML or SysML, to capture their design requirements. Because it is based on the Arcadia method, it also guides engineers in their activities, which generic modeling tools in general, do not do. In 2015, Capella was released as an Eclipse open source project by PolarSys, a Working Group [3] of the Eclipse Foundation through the French collaborative project Clarity, [4] supported by the Banque Publique d’Investissement (Bpifrance [5] ). Capella has its own life cycle. A major release, providing new functionality is delivered each year end while several versions called minor, including bugs fixes, are generally delivered over the course of the year.

Principles

Capella comes with its own metamodel, which defines the language concepts the user can enable in a Capella project. The user creates an instance of this metamodel and can then view the model from various perspectives through diagrams, according to his/her concerns. The user can also, via the palette associated with diagrams, create new model elements. A Capella project consists of a model part ("melodymodeller") and a graphic part ("aird").

Workbench GUI Capella HMI.png
Workbench GUI
Diagrams with set of tools Capella SDFB.png
Diagrams with set of tools

When a Capella project is created, the workbench interface is presented to the user. It contains various areas:

Diagrams

Through Capella, the user can handle several types of diagrams. The representation of elements in diagrams is governed by a color code specific to each type of analysis. Some examples of diagrams:

Extensibility

The workbench can be enhanced or specialized for a given business need, according to the concept of "Point of View", defined by the standard ISO/IEC 42010. [6] These extensions provide, for example:

Compatibility

Capella is supported on environments based on Java 7 and higher on the following platforms:

Dependencies

The latest version of Capella is based on:

Community and communication

Links to the community and more information are available on the PolarSys website. Capella documentation is available for download from the website. [9]

Capella was presented at several events:

ConferenceTitleDatePlace
SiriusCon 2016Collaborative modeling with Capella and Sirius [10] 15/11/2016 Paris
Incose 2016Simplifying (and enriching) SysML to perform functional analysis and model instances [11] 18/06/2016 Edinburgh
EclipseCon FranceHands-On Systems Modeling with ARCADIA / Capella [12] 07/06/2016 Toulouse
Dutch Eclipse DayModel-based engineering with Capella: Status and perspectives [13] 18/04/2016 Eindhoven
EclipseCon North AmericaMars exploration guided by PolarSys [14] 07/03/2016 Reston
ERTSMBSE with ARCADIA Method and Capella Tool [15] 27/01/2016 Toulouse
MODELSCLARITY: Open-Sourcing the Model-Based Systems Engineering Solution Capella [16] 29/09/2015 Ottawa
SPLCTooling Support for Variability and Architectural Patterns in Systems Engineering23/07/2015 Nashville
MODELSCLARITY: Open-Sourcing the Model-Based Systems Engineering Solution Capella [17] 29/09/2015 Ottawa
INCOSE International SymposiumImplementing the MBSE Cultural Change: Organization, Coaching and Lessons Learned [18] 14/07/2015 Seattle
INCOSE International SymposiumFrom initial investigations up to large-scale rollout of an MBSE method and its supporting workbench: the Thales experience [19] 14/07/2015 Seattle
EclipseCon FranceCapella time-lapse: A system architecture model in 30 minutes [20] 25/06/2015 Toulouse
EclipseCon FranceSystems Modeling with the ARCADIA method and the Capella tool [21] 24/06/2015 Toulouse
Nouvelle France IndustriellePresentation of Clarity and Capella to Emmanuel Macron [22] 18/05/2015 École des Mines of Nantes
EclipseCon North AmericaCapella time-lapse: A system architecture model in 30 minutes [23] 12/03/2015 San Francisco
EclipseCon EuropeCapella on the field: Model-based system engineering use cases [24] 29/10/2014 Ludwigsburg
Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) SymposiumThe Challenges of Deploying MBSE Solutions [25] 28/10/2014 Canberra
Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) SymposiumArcadia and Capella in the Field [26] 27/10/2014 Canberra
EclipseCon FranceArcadia / Capella, a field-proven modeling solution for system and software architecture engineering [27] 19/06/2014 Toulouse
EclipseCon North AmericaArcadia / Capella, a field-proven modeling solution for system and software architecture engineering [28] 20/03/2015 San Francisco
Complex Systems Design & Management (CSDM)Model-Based Collaboration for System, Software and Hardware Engineering [29] 04/12/2013 Paris

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "PolarSys website" . Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  2. ↑ "Capella 7.0.0 (latest stable release)" . Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  3. ↑ "PolarSys Proposal for Capella" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  4. ↑ "Ecosystem for the Model Based Systems Engineering Solution Capella" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  5. ↑ "Bpifrance website" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  6. ↑ "ISO / IEC / IEEE 42010: 2011, Systems and software engineering - Architecture description" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  7. ↑ "Kitalpha: an environment to develop and execute MBE" . Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  8. ↑ "EMF Diff / Merge: a diff / merge component for models" . Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  9. ↑ "Capella Documentation" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "Collaborative modeling with Capella and Sirius" . Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  11. ↑ "Simplifying (and enriching) SysML to perform functional analysis and model instances". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  12. ↑ "Hands-On Systems Modeling with ARCADIA / Capella". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  13. ↑ "Model-based engineering with Capella: Status and perspectives". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  14. ↑ "Mars exploration guided by PolarSys". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  15. ↑ "MBSE with ARCADIA Method and Capella Tool" . Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  16. ↑ "=CLARITY: Open-Sourcing the Model-Based Systems Engineering Solution Capella" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  17. ↑ "CLARITY: Open-Sourcing the Model-Based Systems Engineering Solution Capella" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  18. ↑ "Implementing the MBSE Cultural Change: Organization, Coaching and Lessons Learned". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  19. ↑ "From initial investigations up to large-scale rollout of an MBSE method and its supporting workbench: the Thales experience". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  20. ↑ "Capella time-lapse: A system architecture model in 30 minutes". Archived from the original on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  21. ↑ "Systems Modeling with the ARCADIA method and the Capella tool". Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  22. ↑ "Obeo et Thales rencontrent le ministre de l'Economie lors du lancement du projet Industrie du futur" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  23. ↑ "Capella time-lapse: A system architecture model in 30 minutes". Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  24. ↑ "Capella on the field: Model-based system engineering use cases" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  25. ↑ "The Challenges of Deploying MBSE Solutions". Archived from the original on 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  26. ↑ "Arcadia and Capella in the Field". Archived from the original on 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  27. ↑ "Arcadia / Capella, a field-proven modeling solution for system and software architecture engineering". Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  28. ↑ "Arcadia / Capella, a field-proven modeling solution for system and software architecture engineering". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  29. ↑ "Model-Based Collaboration for System, Software and Hardware Engineering" . Retrieved 2015-10-23.
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