Addins broken in Lite edition v12

[Geert Bellekens]

The lite edition of v12 broke all of my addins

I am not amused.

Example code:

Code: [Select]

this.navigatorControl = this.model.addWindow("Navigate", "TSF.UmlToolingFramework.EANavigator.NavigatorControl") as NavigatorControl;The addWindow returns null for the lite version.

This used to work perfectly fine in version 10.

bug reported

Geert

[Takeshi K]

Hello Geert,

The Lite edition of the latest version does not support any Add-ins. You can find somewhere in the Readme file. So, it is not a bug.

HTH,

[Geert Bellekens]

Honestly I couldn't care less if it is considered a bug or a feature. Either way it is still a problem!

A naked EA is simply useless to us.
Now I have to stop the upgrade to v12 because of this, and I look the fool

Geert

[Eve]

A naked EA is simply useless to us.

So what is it that you do in your add-in that means everything that EA does is meaningless?

[Geert Bellekens]

Simon,

My addins do:
- Show structured view from xml tagged notes content
- Allow navigation from operations to their implementation and back
- Quicksearch
- Find implementation in code for an operation
- and then some

Our Lite users are not most EA savvy people (and they don't have to be) and they rely heavily on my add-ins to find their way in EA.
Without the add-ins they are lost.
I'm still trying to figure out why this was suddenly changed, but I can't find a good reason.
EA Lite v10 was a complete version where the only difference was that it wouldn't change anything in the model.
EA Lite v12 is a crippled version.

Simon I'm really upset by this. I'm trying my best to defend EA and Sparx Systems, but these kind of decisions make that harder and harder.

Geert

[Paolo F Cantoni]

Simon,

My addins do:
- Show structured view from xml tagged notes content
- Allow navigation from operations to their implementation and back
- Quicksearch
- Find implementation in code for an operation
- and then some

Our Lite users are not most EA savvy people (and they don't have to be) and they rely heavily on my add-ins to find their way in EA.
Without the add-ins they are lost.
I'm still trying to figure out why this was suddenly changed, but I can't find a good reason.
EA Lite v10 was a complete version where the only difference was that it wouldn't change anything in the model.
EA Lite v12 is a crippled version.

Simon I'm really upset by this. I'm trying my best to defend EA and Sparx Systems, but these kind of decisions make that harder and harder.

Geert

I thought I'd let you say why this was a "less than optimal idea".

I thought that EA Lite already disabled Add-In functions that modified that repository.  So why disable those functions that don't?

I'm in the (less or more) same situation as you, I'm trying to get non-technical people to use EA lite to view the Corporate Repository.  I can see that I'll be wandering into the same sort of territory as you, so I'm just as concerned with this development - which like you, I can't find any rationale for.

I was proposing to use some values returned by an Add-In for my shapescripts.  Is that also disabled?  If so, then that's quite evil....

Paolo

[Eve]

I can't go into detail about why the decision was made. But EA lite doesn't just disable modifying the database. It also disables all reporting, generation etc.

Then connect the dots with what the version 11 release notes say

 Lite edition will no longer allow add-ins to define menu items or add custom views

Add-ins can still provide MDG technologies, so EA lite viewers should still see diagrams identically to full version users. That includes callbacks from shape scripts. (Tip - be careful of your caching when doing that. EA doesn't know when you've refreshed the data. You get called with every draw)

[Paolo F Cantoni]

I can't go into detail about why the decision was made. But EA lite doesn't just disable modifying the database. It also disables all reporting, generation etc.

Then connect the dots with what the version 11 release notes say

 Lite edition will no longer allow add-ins to define menu items or add custom views

Add-ins can still provide MDG technologies, so EA lite viewers should still see diagrams identically to full version users. That includes callbacks from shape scripts. (Tip - be careful of your caching when doing that. EA doesn't know when you've refreshed the data. You get called with every draw)

Memo to self: Make sure you CAREFULLY check new versions even if you're not using them.

Disallowing Menu Items and Custom Views, again, seems overly harsh for the Viewer.  I see application to allow the addition of menu items to alter the rendering of a diagram (but not save it, or the new diagram object or diagram links style).

Geert's point is very valid! In the past, you could guarantee (I think) that anything you did that didn't write to the Repository in the Full version would render identically in the Viewer.  Now, it appears, you no longer can.

Paolo

[Geert Bellekens]

Then connect the dots with what the version 11 release notes say

 Lite edition will no longer allow add-ins to define menu items or add custom views

We haven't used version 11 because of some issues with sequence diagram handling (which have been fixed in v12) so that's why we haven't noticed until now.

I really hope this decision can get reversed because it really feels like an evil practice to me. First get people hooked with all kinds of free goodies, and then take them away and suddenly charge money for it.

Geert

[qwerty]

... it really feels like an evil practice to me. First get people hooked with all kinds of free goodies, and then take them away and suddenly charge money for it...

That was my first impression too. And likely you're not the only one to mix lite/pro version with your own add-ins.

q.

[Eve]

Not intended to be evil. It's fixing a bug that allowed the intention of the lite version to be subverted by add-ins that provided features incompatible with the intended feature set of that EA edition.

[qwerty]

In Germany this is called bear service. The bear trying to pet you accidentally  hurts you. Take care to cut your claws...

q.

[Geert Bellekens]

Below the email I wrote to Sparx

Hi Simon, Tom, Ken
 
I figured this much, and frankly I'm furious!
How could you. Because you suspect someone might take advantage of this you simply turn it off altogether, thereby punishing everyone else in the process without notice (two lines hidden in the 500+ lines of release notes is not a notice).
I think that is really really wrong. We, the ones that write those add-in,s are your greatest supporters. We advocate the use of Enterprise Architect at our clients, and we build add-ins to make their life's a bit easier, so they continue to use EA despite some of its shortcomings.
One of the main arguments for selling EA used to be that it has a free fully featured viewer that did everything in read-only mode.
Now that is no longer true. EA Lite is now crippled.
I have clients that depend heavily on the add-ins I developed for them for navigation and viewing the contents of the model. Now I cannot upgrade the Lite users to v12 because of that.
You make me look like a fool and a fraud, luring them into EA with the promise of free goodies, and then taking them away and asking money for it. This is a practice I would expect from drug dealers and companies such as Microsoft, but not Sparx Systems.
 
And you didn't even took it out properly. When I upgrade a Lite user with all add-ins installed they constantly get error messages because of the add-ins trying to show menu items or add windows. What is that about?
The least you could do is make sure EA Lite worked properly even with the add-ins installed!
 
Please advise what I should tell my customers, because I don't know anymore!

Geert

[Graham_Moir]

"But EA lite doesn't just disable modifying the database. It also disables all reporting, generation etc....."

So what exactly is the point of EA Lite now ?   Disabling the ability to update the model made absolute sense,  but extending that to remove a growing list of read-only functions?   Really?   For goodness sake, I agree with Geert, this  "really feels like an evil practice...".