1. My company is very concerned about the distribution and intellectual property restrictions that can come with using some types of open source software. I understand there can be restrictions on us even if we use a product that embeds such open source code. Many of your competitors use restrictive open source licenses. Should I be concerned about this when using ILOG Diagrammer for .NET?

This is an important question, especially for our independent software vendor (ISV) customers. We assure you that ILOG Diagrammer for .NET does not use open source software.

If you still have concerns, please contact an ILOG sales representative to get ILOG's open source code usage policy, and to ask other related questions.

2. I would like to use symbols that I had already created (or symbols that I found on the Web) for the graphics in my applications. Is it possible to reuse these in my ILOG Diagrammer .NET application? Ideally, I want to animate them so they respond to underlying state changes.

Yes. You can use your own or found symbols in your ILOG Diagrammer .NET applications.

Most graphic design tools, such as Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw, can export to Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. Other tools, such as Visio, have formats that can be converted to SVG by using a third party tool. In both of these cases, the SVG file serves as an input file to ILOG Diagrammer for .NET’s Diagram Editor. Graphics can be enhanced and animated, and stored as a symbol for later use in one or more applications with the Editor.

Bitmaps can also be imported into the Diagram Editor, but, because bitmaps do not scale well, they are often only appropriate for graphics that will not require zooming or rotation.

3. Is ILOG Diagrammer for .NET a port of ILOG JViews Diagrammer?

No. ILOG Diagrammer for .NET was written in C#, and it takes advantage of the best development practices provided by the .NET framework, including full integration with Microsoft Visual Studio.

ILOG has, of course, also leveraged its extensive experience with its C++ and Java products when designing ILOG Diagrammer for .NET. Like our Java product, ILOG JViews Diagrammer, ILOG Diagrammer for .NET provides most of our customer’s commonly required functionality right out of the box. At the same time, it provides a well-architected application programming interface (API) that allows developers to extend any of the classes, if desired.

ILOG Diagrammer for .NET is named similarly to ILOG JViews Diagrammer mainly because of the types of displays it enables. Both products provide user interface developers the ability to create diagram and dashboard displays, and both come fully loaded with pre-built editors, graph layout algorithms, reusable symbols, and much more.

4. Can I build an ILOG Diagrammer for .NET application that deploys to both the desktop and the Web? How difficult is that to do?

ILOG Diagrammer for .NET applications can be deployed:

• To desktops using the WinForms technology
• To the Web as rich client applications by embedding WinForms controls in Internet Explorer
• As ClickOnce applications that live on the desktop and can be easily updated from the Web
• As Ajax-enhanced ASP.NET thin clients

The first three options all use WinForms and are similar. Deploying to one of these platforms and also to the ASP.NET thin client is more complex, but ILOG Diagrammer for .NET makes it simpler: the symbols, views, data structure and data connections can all be exactly the same; only user interactions need to be treated differently. Even then, ILOG Diagrammer for .NET eases the process by providing many Ajax-enhanced interaction capabilities for the thin client, making it behave like the WinForms client as muchas possible.

5. Why should I use the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) with the ILOG Diagrammer for .NET editing tool? Can I use other symbols?

BPMN use is not mandatory with ILOG Diagrammer for .NET. Alternate symbol sets are shipped with the product and it’s relatively simple to create new symbols. The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a graphical notation that depicts the steps in a business process. Version 1.0 of the BPMN specification has been adopted by the Object Management Group (OMG), and is widely used by business process modelers. More information about BPMN can be found on the BPMN Web site and on the OMG Web site.

ILOG Diagrammer for .NET provides out-of-the-box support for BPMN, including a complete symbol set, pool and swimlane support, and specially tailored layout algorithms to keep your diagrams tidy. ILOG Diagrammer for .NET is shipped with a ready-to-use and ready-to-customize BPMN editor that can be rebranded for your specific needs.