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Profile Toolbox

The Profile Toolbox is used in creating Profiles, a generic mechanism for extending UML models. Profiles can define custom Stereotypes, Tagged Values, Diagram Types and Toolboxes.

The Toolbox also contains a set of Profile Helpers that provide templates and dialogs to help you create Stereotype Profiles, Toolbox Profiles and Diagram Profiles within an MDG Technology.

Profile Toolbox Pages

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See also

The Profile Package element acts as the container for the diagrams, elements and connectors that define the Profile itself.

The Stereotype element provides a mechanism for varying the behavior and type of a base UML model element.

A Metaclass element represents the base UML element or connector type that you are extending.

An Enumeration element is used to define an enumeration Tagged Value, which can be attached to one or more Stereotype elements that have been defined in the Profile.

A Data Type element is used to represent types of data, such as programming language primitive types, CORBA basic types, and Tagged Value types. For example, integer and string types are often treated as Data Types.

A Model Pattern element can be added to a <<profile>> package when creating a model-based MDG Technology using an <<mdg technology>> package. The element has two tagged values: 'pattern' references a package whose entire contents will be stored internally in the model, and 'rtf' references a document artifact whose linked document will likewise be store internally in the model.

A Diagram Property attribute can be added to a Stereotype element to create a checkbox on an element's context menu, the value of which can be tested for in its shape script. The name of the Diagram Property will be used as the context menu label, and the alias of the Diagram Property will be the property tested for in the shape script.  See the example in the Help topic Query Methods.

A Removed Attribute attribute is used when you want to prevent a Stereotype element from inheriting an attribute from a generalized Stereotype element, when redefining a stereotype from another profile. Give the Removed Attribute the same name as the attribute to be removed.

Profile Helpers are templates and dialogs that help you create, respectively:

  • An MDG Technology Package to contain Profile definitions
  • Stereotypes and Metaclasses within a UML Profile
  • A customized Toolbox Profile
  • Toolbox pages within the customized Toolbox
  • A Diagram Profile to define an extended diagram type

An Extension relationship shows that a Stereotype extends a Metaclass; all Stereotypes must extend either:

  • One or more Metaclasses, or
  • Another Stereotype that extends a Metaclass; you can create a chain of extending Stereotypes that ultimately extend the Metaclass (however, in practice you are unlikely to have more than two Stereotypes in the chain)

A Generalize relationship shows that one Stereotype specializes a more general Stereotype; the more general Stereotype must still extend a Metaclass.

A Tagged Value relationship defines a reference-type (that is, RefGUID) Tagged Value owned by the source Stereotype; the Tagged Value is named for the target role of this association, and is limited to referencing elements with the stereotype by the association target element

Add Stereotypes and Metaclasses Add an Enumeration to a Stereotype Using the Profile Helpers Use the Tagged Value Connector Redefine Stereotypes in Another Profile Query Methods

Notes

  • To add an element to the currently-open diagram, click on the appropriate icon and drag it into position on the diagram; set an element name and other properties as prompted
  • To add a relationship, click on the appropriate icon, then click on the start element in the diagram and drag to the end element

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