How to keep track of datamodel changes

[CJ]

G'day folks,

I reverse engineered our database in EA, and want to apply some changes to some columns in a table.

How do you highlight your datamodels to distinguish new columns from already existing ones?  Same question for new tables/relationships too.

Thanks in advance and best regards.

[jaimeglz]

Hi Jason!

Have you considered using the "Tagged Values" of your Column/Attribute? You can create, for instance, "Author" and "Version" tags for your attribute. After all, this is one the prime purposes of tagged values in UML.

Jaime Gonzalez

[CJ]

Thanks Jaime, I didn't even consider tagged values.  I was looking more for some visual cue in the logical diagrams...

I can't believe this, even after reading and participating in the thread "Linking Use Case pathways to Activity Diagrams": link a frigging note to a table's attribute features to highlight a new column (or even to operation features to show new foreign keys etc.).  The same to show a tagged value.

Anyone have any opinions on using a "Change" element, linked to a table (or any class, for that matter), to highlight changes?

[PhilR]

We are a team of three and we use the EA Change element as a sort of "Post It Note".  Anyone who wants to change an area of the model that is someone else's responsibility adds a change element to the digram describing the necessary changes.

Works well.

Phil.

[Marek Brezina]

Hi,
try to use different background color for changed classes, it is visual enought. And when sharing classes between diagrams you can see it on every one. You can also add a new issue (change/defect) for this class. Or you can create a note and link it to a class. We have system in colors of changed classes and it works.

[timhawkins]

The problem there is "changed from what", it would be great if every attribute could have a version IDE and comment attached and then a facility that allowed you show the diagram with element/attribute colours change that are different from version "XXX".

[Keith Bollwahn]

I've been following this discussion and guess it time to add my two cents.  I've been tasked with coming up with a report for "What's changed since..." for data tables at the attribute and operation level.  I've approached the boss with the tagged values solution but that has been veto'd since it is a procedural solution.  - With 15 users in the model it too easy for someone to forget to update a tag. - In addition the boss would like to be able to filter what kind of changes have been made. For example report of a table column length has been changed, but not if a typo has been corrected in the notes.  I've looked at the EA data structure in Access and can see that change dates are only stored at the object level.  So for now, without the tagged value option, I'm stuck.

Steve: Any change of addressing this as part of version control in a future release?

Anybody: Has anybody tried / had success with using any third-party software for version control with the EA database?

Thanks

[Steve_Straley]

Keith,

I've discussed this with Geoff and Paul and I know they are coming up with an idea or two in the future.  For example, if you've noticed on some of the newer updates from the guys, the "External File" options NOW fill in the date/time stamp as well as file size of those external files.   This to me was/is important from a version control issue and they added that based on a suggestion.   However, version control goes beyond that so I'm also looking at this issue as well and am thinking, as I kindof suggested, in changing the focus of the EAToolkiT to be more of an EAManager tool.   I use CVS and WinCVS and am looking at making the new tool a Command Central point, if you will, incorporating CVS and MS Project integration.

Unfortunately, I'm working on a new tool that is also part of the overall development process and once that goes into beta of sorts, I'll turn back over to this issue.    Wish I could be of more help...

Steve