You can validate the analysis and design model by tracing and stimulate the executable model. In addition, the Rational Rhapsody animator helps you debug your system at the design level rather than the source code level by actually executing the model and animating the various UML design diagrams. Rather than merely simulating the application and viewing values of variables and pointers, you see actual values of instances of states and relations.
The animator enables you to juxtapose different views of an application while it is running. You can watch the animated model executing in any of the following views:
Simultaneously viewing animated sequence diagrams, animated statecharts, animated activity diagrams, and the animated browser in adjacent windows as the model is executing enables you to verify that the design behaves as wanted. Highlighting in the animated diagrams helps you to pinpoint the current state of execution.
While the model is running, you can use the Animation toolbar to step through the program, set and clear breakpoints, and inject events to observe how the system reacts in quasi-real time. You can observe the operation for the system either in the animated views or by generating an output trace.
The animator is a design-level debugger, as well as a model validator. In other words, the animator supports the standard functionality of a programming language debugger at the design level. The objects you follow are design-level objects; that is, objects that are modeled in Rational Rhapsody.
During an animation session, you can perform the following activities:
Here are the general steps to prepare for and run animation, with references to the more specific procedures.