If you have not already done so, start MVS/EVS at this time. To start MVS/EVS, double-click on the appropriate MVS or EVS icon located in the programs listing of your Windows Start Menu.
MVS/EVS uses a visual programming paradigm. The MVS/EVS Main Window has two primary parts: the Module Libraries, and the Application area, as shown in the figure above. The Application area is the primary tool that is used to build customized networks of modules (applications), and those networks (applications) are constructed from modules (modular programs) which are located in the MVS/EVS Module Library. Each module is represented by a small rectangular object that you drag into the Application area and connect to other modules to construct applications.
Each module in MVS/EVS has its own set of user controls based on a graphical user interface. Modules are interconnected by mouse actions by making graphical "connections" between output and input ports of like color. Individual port colors represent different data structures which are passed between modules. The collection of modules forms a network which is essentially a custom application. When a network is saved as an application it defines those modules which are to be included in the application and how those modules are to be used. MVS/EVS's network editor, although very easy to use, provides a graphical object oriented programming environment to create custom applications without the need for "programming" skills. Saved applications provide all the functionality of a custom application to a user without his/her needing to learn or understand program creation techniques.
The Application area is the workspace where you use the modules to build networks. The MVS/EVS Module Libraries are like a toolbox, in that it there are a number of different tools that serve different purposes, but cannot be used until they are taken out of the toolbox. Similarly, the Application area is similar to a workbench: it is the place where the tools are used to create visualizations. Most modules in the library have input and/or output ports. These are colored regions (ports) on the top and/or bottom of the module objects which represent the pipelines through which data flows to and from each module. A collection of modules that have their ports connected by pipelines comprise an MVS/EVS Application (network). The figure above shows a moderate complexity application which produced the figure below.
