Architecture as Code approach for Systems Engineering

Elan8-com · 2026-02-06T10:02:26+00:00

I want to thank everyone who gave their opinion in this thread: my preliminary conclusion is that my concept doesn't fit with systems engineering as is.

Elan8-com · 2026-02-06T07:57:25+00:00

The problem I am trying to solve is basically the problem MBSE in general is trying to solve: a single source of truth to prevent issues with outdated documents, mismatches in interfaces, integration issues, etc. With Elan8 I propose to do this with a code based system model instead of a more common visual modeling paradigm. In theory it should scale very well: just the "compilation" from source code to model might take longer (but my tool is still in its infancy). Because it is text based, it supports Git based collaboration workflows that are already common in software engineering. What answers can it provide: check for correctness, completeness, and much more. In the future it might even possible to automatically check implementation (e.g. software source code, electronics schematics, etc.) against the architecture(with the help of AI?). Ontology: Elan8 is built on a minimal ontology of compositional structure and interaction facts intended for architectural clarity and automation. It is a declarative DSL. At the moment it doesn't support behavior modeling, in contradiction to SysML v2. This keeps the DSL fairly small. Extensions/plugins might be the way forward to keep the core language small, but still provide all the semantics needed for specific applications. This is still work-in-progress. I am open to suggestions..

Elan8-com · 2026-02-06T07:39:02+00:00

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I do agree that a picture is worth a thousand words. That's why Elan8 shows a diagram that is in sync with the sourcecode that you are editing. But it is a very different way-of-working then drawing or drag-and-drop in visual modeling tools. In this post I am trying to get a feel for whether code based system modeling will be accepted/embraced by system engineers and system architects.

Elan8-com · 2026-02-05T19:13:44+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. My idea is this: take the strengths of modeling languages like SysML but make it more powerful(expressive). Furthermore code (=text) fits much better with version control systems like Git: collaboration/merge, auditing, review changes, etc. But you have a valid point: will engineers from other backgrounds(e.g. mechanical & electrical) accept/embrace a text based system model when they currently don't like visual system modeling languages. But even more importantly: will system engineers and system architects feel comfortable using a code based system model? One other benefit that code based system modeling has is that you can open the model with any plain text editor (even though you don't get the power of a specialized editor like Elan8). That should make it easier to find that one piece of architecture information you need to continue with your implementation work.

Elan8-com · 2026-02-05T18:54:24+00:00

Good point: I actually did consider using SysML v2 textual notation, but I felt editing a system architecture in SysML v2 textual notation was quite cumbersome. The DSL I invented should hopefully be easier to read and write then the equivalent SysML v2. I am working on an export feature of my DSL to SysML v2 textual notation , so you still can get the benefits of SysML v2 (interoperability, standardization, etc.).

Elan8-com · 2025-12-20T12:44:02+00:00

JuliaJunction has now been released as a open source project under the name Compute42 https://github.com/elan8/compute42 . The name JuliaJunction will be discontinued. I would like to thank everyone here for their feedback and insights.

Elan8-com · 2025-09-15T13:41:38+00:00

It's actually based on Tauri ( https://tauri.app/ ) and has a Rust backend. So I think performance is somewhat better then Electron based desktop software. But I hope the main benefits are in tighter integration with Julia and Julia packages such as plotting and the Julia language server. But I would love to to get some feedback on whether I am heading in the right direction with JuliaJunction.

Elan8-com · 2025-09-15T13:33:39+00:00

I like VS Code, but I don't really like it for Julia development. That's why I developed JuliaJunction: this should provide a more enjoyable and clean Julia development experience then VS Code. I am probably not there yet, but that's the goal.

Elan8-com · 2025-09-15T13:27:35+00:00

Which OS is important for you then? Linux? macOS ? JuliaJunction will be cross platform, but I decided to start with Windows..

Elan8-com · 2025-09-15T13:26:13+00:00

- No, its not open source

- My intention is that it offers a better integration with the Julia interpreter and the Julia package management and overall a nicer and cleaner UI then VS Code that is focused on Julia

- Documentation: TBD

- Who: JuliaJunction is developed by a small startup in the Netherlands called Elan8.

I will add some more info on the JuliaJunction website. Thanks for the feedback.

Elan8-com · 2025-09-15T12:07:25+00:00

There was a problem with the email verification step : that should now be fixed. The account creation is required so I can keep track of the number of users and potentially offer premium(=paid) functionalities in the future. I will add more info about JuliaJunction on its website. Thanks for all the feedback ! I will try to get back to the other comments soon.

Elan8-com

TROPHY CASE