Ecomdl is the split-file MDriven model format for teams that want to keep an MDriven Designer model in source control and review changes with Git or SVN.

What Ecomdl contains

An .ecomdl file is the manifest file for an MDriven model. It holds the other files in the model file cluster together.

Unlike a single-file archive, an Ecomdl model is saved as individual, uncompressed files. The individual model files are well-formed XML. This structure lets source-control and diff tools inspect changes to the model files instead of treating the whole model as one binary-like archive.

For example, when you save a model named Sales in Ecomdl format, the Sales.ecomdl manifest belongs with its related model files. Keep the complete file cluster together when you copy, commit, or share the model.

Files in the model cluster

The exact contents depend on the model, but well-known files in an Ecomdl cluster include:

File extension	Role in the Ecomdl model cluster
.ecomdl	The manifest file that holds the other model files together.
.span	A model-cluster file.
.ecopkg	A model-cluster file.
.actions	A model-cluster file.
.snippets	A model-cluster file.
.diag	A model-cluster file.

Do not treat the .ecomdl file as a complete standalone model. If related files are missing, the model cluster is incomplete.

Choose Ecomdl for collaborative development

Use Ecomdl when multiple developers change the same model and you use Git or SVN. Because the model is split into individual, uncompressed XML files, repository tools can show and compare file-level changes more effectively than they can for a compressed archive.

A typical team workflow is:

1. Save the model as an Ecomdl file cluster.
2. Add the .ecomdl manifest and all related files to the same Git or SVN repository.
3. Commit changes to the complete cluster together.
4. When another developer retrieves the model, ensure that they receive the manifest and its sibling files.
5. Open the Ecomdl model structure in MDriven Designer and continue modeling.

For example, if one developer changes a diagram while another changes actions, the split-file structure gives source control separate files to compare. You must still resolve any source-control conflicts before treating the merged cluster as the shared model version.

Ecomdl compared with Modlr

Modlr contains the same kinds of model content as Ecomdl, but Modlr is a zip file. Use the format that matches how you work with the model.

Format	Storage form	Best fit
Ecomdl	Multiple uncompressed files, with an .ecomdl manifest	Multi-developer work with Git or SVN, where diffs and source-control history matter
Modlr	One zip file	Uploading to and downloading from MDriven Server

MDrivenServer uses the Modlr format for model upload and download. Ecomdl is therefore the preferred working format for a team repository, while Modlr is the server exchange format described on the Modlr page.

Use Ecomdl in Visual Studio

Visual Studio can open an Ecomdl model for code generation. If Visual Studio opens the .ecomdl file as XML rather than as a model surface, verify that the appropriate MDriven Framework installation is present and check that the project entry does not assign the file the Designer subtype. See Visual Studio for the project-file correction.

MDriven Framework also uses Ecomdl to save models, so you can continue opening the Ecomdl file structure in MDriven Designer while working with the framework.

See also

• Documentation:Modlr
• Documentation:Visual Studio
• Documentation:Moving your work from MDriven Designer to MDriven Framework
• Documentation:State Diagrams