In this paper we investigate the possibility to construct a visual environment using a graphical editor on top of a textual compiler.
Our investigation was applied to a case study, in the context of a running project LEPAForM. Our goal was the development of a graphical environment for Timed Statecharts based specifications. These charts are translated to axioms in Real Time Logic. Then, the correction of the charts can be checked.
We developed a graphical editor with the ability to generate textual descriptions of the sentences being draw. The textual representation, which is always invisible from the user point of view, is processed by a compiler developed with Eli, from an attibuted grammar specification.
The specification of the visual language was done in MASOViLa; this formalism will also be present.
The graphical editor runs under Windows environment, and was developed with Borland Delphi.