MADS is implemented as a DSL (Domain Specific language) and the corresponding specialized editor. Developed using the XText tool under Eclipse, it is (or will be) available either as an add-on to any Eclipse configuration or as a free-standing Eclipse RCP product.
As explained in the Getting started section, the structure of a model, the corresponding parameter values, the calculations to be performed and the types of reports to be produced are all defined as a text written following the MADS DSL syntax.
When running MADS, the Eclipse IDE or Eclipse RCP window includes the MADS Editor, an Outline view of the editor’s content, a Project Explorer or Package explorer, an errors / problems / console view for output, a “MADS” menu item with two sub-menu items, namely a command to install examples and one to Run a selected Plan, the latter with a corresponding toolbar button.
The MADS editor enforces the syntax and provides assistance in the form of templates to help define the various data objects that form a data file.
Running the model and getting results is as simple as selecting a plan from the editor or the outline and activating a Run command from the menu or toolbar. The resulting user-defined output (e.g. tables) is displayed by an editor, either in plain text or formated in html web format (in which case the output gets also rendered and displayed in a pop-up windows.), or can be exported to a spreadsheet. In addition, the entire set of calculation results is listed on the console.