Three-Dimensional Feature Diagrams Visualization

Abstract

Visualizing and manipulating large feature diagrams is still an open issue for the SPL community. Few effort has been made on improving the techniques to get the most out of drawing space and current feature modeling tools either use file-system-like trees or 2D graphs that must be scrolled to locate features. The aim of this paper is presenting a new method to draw large feature models based on cone trees, a three-dimensional visualization technique to represent hierarchical information. in order to evaluate our proposal, we develop a prototype that generates standard 3D files so it can be easily integrated into existing tools. Finally, we present a roadmap for a future extension of our proposal with dynamic behaviour so large feature models handling might be improved.