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'''Visual modeling''' is practice of representing a system graphically; via a [[modeling language]]. The result, a visual model, can provide an artifact that describes a complex system in a way that can be understood by experts and novices alike. Via visual models, complex ideas are not held to human limitations; allowing for greater complexity without a loss of comprehension.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quatrani |first1=Terry |title=Introduction to Visual Modeling with Rational Rose 2002 and UML |url=http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=30432 |website=informit.com |publisher=informit |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> Visual modeling can also be used to bring a group to a consensus. Models help effectively communicate ideas among designers, allowing for quicker discussion and an eventual consensus.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simons |first1=Gary |title=Conceptual Modeling versus Visual Modeling: A Technological Key to Building Consensus |journal=Computers and the Humanities |date=1996–1997 |volume=30 |issue=4 |page=305|doi=10.1007/BF00115139 }}</ref>
Notable [[modeling languageslanguage]]s include industry open standards such as [[Unified Modeling Language |UML]], [[SysML]], [[Modelica]], and proprietary languages, such as those associated with [[VisSim]], [[MATLAB]] and [[Simulink]], [[OPNET]], NetSim, [[NI Multisim]], and [[Reactive Blocks]]. Both VisSim and Reactive Blocks provide a royalty-free, downloadable viewer that lets anyone open and interactively simulate their models. The community edition of Reactive Blocks also allows full editing of the models as well as compilation, as long as the work is published under the [[Eclipse Public License]].
Visual modeling languages may be [[general-purpose modeling]] (GPM), such as UML, Southbeach Notation, [[IDEF]], or [[___domain-specific modeling]] (DSM) such as SysML. The development of visual modeling languages is an area of active research as evidenced by increasing interest in DSM languages, visual [[requirements]], and visual OWL ([[Web Ontology Language]]).<ref name="faq">{{cite web|title=Visual OWL|url=http://www.visualmodeling.com/VisualOWL.htm}}</ref>