Elements of QGeNIe Diagrams: Submodel
- Submodel
Submodels are special types of nodes that host sub-graphs of the entire graph and make the Graph view structured hierarchically. Submodeling facilitates modularity in large models. The internals of a submodel, along with its structure can be examined in separation from the entire model.
To create a submodel in QGeNIe, select the Submodel tool (from the Tool menu or the tool from the Standard toolbar) and click on the graph view. You will see a new submodel.
You can change the identifier of the new submodel by right-clicking it and choosing Submodel Properties.
The submodel property sheet look as follows:
The General tab allows to change the identifier and the name of the submodel, the Format sheet allows to change the graphical properties of the submodel icon and is identical to the property sheet described in node property sheets.
Submodel windows can be opened by double-clicking on the Submodel icon or right-clicking on the submodel icon and choosing Open Submodel from the pop-up menu.
Nodes can be moved between submodels by selecting them in the source submodel, dragging, and dropping them in the destination submodel. For example, we might want to create a submodel for the variables Success and Forecast in the influence diagram model used in the Creating Influence Diagrams tutorial. We do this by creating a submodel node, renaming it to Risks, and then dragging and dropping the nodes Success of the venture and Expert Forecast to the new submodel. Submodels are opened by double-clicking on them.
One thing that becomes less clear in submodels is the connections that the submodel has with the external world - QGeNIe does not show arcs that are coming from outside or that go to the outside world. It does let the user know that there are such connections. First of all, by showing these connections as coming into the submodel node (note the arcs from the submodel node Risks coming into the nodes Invest and Gain at the main model level). It also adds small triangle-shaped marks on the left and right sides of the internal submodel nodes showing that there are incoming and outgoing arcs respectively.
