Create project and backend repositories

[trishus]

We are new to EA and intend to implement using an Oracle DBMS repository.  We are completely confused about "create project" in the repository.  It's not an easy task.  Are we missing something?

We start with connect to server, this eventually end up wtih the Connection name and type dialog (although I complete this, I NEVER see this list of connections saved anywhere and each time I need to connect, I need to complete the connection dialog box over and over again).  We were under the assumption that by saving the connection, we could return to our list of connections (we intend to have the production repository, the training repository and the sandbox repository), choose one and be presented with a list of projects available from the repository defined by the connection.

Then, there are several paths to creating a project, some go straight to a file system view and ask where do I want to place my .eap file while other go into the what type of base model to I want to use to populate this project with.  If we are creating our project in the repository, why is it asking for a location to the eap file (or am I missing something fundamental here).

I cannot seem to find any white papers or help that clears this up for us.  We have over 100 developers and until we figure this out, we cannot deploy EA.

Help

[«Midnight»]

Hi Patricia,

This is a common stumbling block (or at least it sure stopped me when I first used EA).

What you need to do to use a DBMS repository (which is what EA and the user docs call anything other than an EAP file) is first set up an empty schema, then load the core information, and finally connect and work with your model.

Download the SQL procedure for creating an Oracle EA repository from Sparx if you've not already done so (it is in the Registered Users Resources page, and probably available from the trial page as well). Create a new schema (user) in Oracle as you normally would, and execute the above procedure to create the tables etc. [I have also done this with Oracle 10g without problem, and there are a lot of users working with 8i as well. In the latter case I cannot say if you need to make any modifications, since I've not used EA with Oracle 8i for almost 2 years.]

Now that you have an empty repository, you need to build some core information before you can work with it. Open EA from the desktop - it is not necessary to open a model, but you can if you want. From the main menu select Tools / Data Management / Transfer Data. Make sure you click EAP to DBMS. Using the Source and Target model "..." dialogs, point to (say) an empty 'placeholder' project (or a complete bootstrap project or whatever you want to start with), as well as your newly created Oracle repository (via your OLE DB settings, via the Windows dialogs EA will invoke for you). EA will warn you that you are going to erase everything in your target model - before you agree make sure you've pointed to the new, empty location!

Click the Transfer button to do the deed. The dialog will remain after everything is done, so you'll have to click Close to finish off.

Now, finally, you can use the File / Open dialog to connect to your repository (yes again, I know...) and open your model. Having done so EA will remember it in the recently used models list.

Sounds like a lot of work, but actually it takes only seconds, and you quickly get used to it.

HTH,
David

[trishus]

David, thanks very much, but I'm still not getting it....

So, we create a project on a local (or networked) drive, set the base stuff up, then at some point we transfer the project model to the repository?

We do this for EVERY project we are creating?

ok, assuming I have 50 active projects and they are in the repository and now I want to open one up and do some work on it.  There is no way (other than me knowing the project's name) to get a list of what's in the repository ... no Browse the Repository to find a project ... feature?  

Ouch...

[«Midnight»]

First, EA will remember your most recent projects, so you can just open them from the File menu or the Open dialog.

With SQL Server (which is the repository I use most often) the (Windows standard) dialogs that EA invokes for selecting an OLE connection allow me to select my target database (or whatever SQL Server calls it, I don't have it open just now) from a drop-down list. Not too dificult.

From Oracle I think something similar comes up, with some kind of intellegent defaults and with respect for the privileges of the current user. Since I rarely need to select from several models in Oracle (and have not had to do so at all for a few years) I must confess that I'm not quite sure what the dialog looks like.

If you commonly switch between many models there are various options for making this simpler, including add-ins. I'm sure there are more obvious - and simpler - means to do this, so perhaps some of the other members would like to wade in on this point (hint, hint).

David

[AshK]

EA also has a feature that allows a connection to an existing DB repository to be opened from the shell.  

Connection infomation can be saved to a file by:

-open a connection to a DB
-use File->Save Project As

The resulting file will be a text file with the .eap extension, containing the connection string to the DB.  Launching this file will open the connection in EA.

Ash

[«Midnight»]

Nifty!

I always supposed there was something along those lines, but never seemed to have the time to look. I did not think it would be that simple. Excellent idea.

It will also make it easier when I want to cut and paste a connection string in EA form into code. I don't have to do that much anymore - my code has learned the tricks on its own - but new EA developers take note.

David

[AshK]

Alternatively, you may pass the connection string as a command line argument, eg:

c:\progra~1\sparxs~1\ea\ea.exe "connectionName --- DBType=0;Connect=Provider=MSDASQL.1;Persist Security Info=False;Data Source=testDB"

DBType enumeraion:

MySQL=0,
SQLSVR=1,
ADOJET=2,
ORACLE=3,
POSTGRES=4,
ASA=5,
Progress=7