Messages disappearing in sequence diagram!

[ckridgway]

We have a package with two sequence diagrams containing component objects that were copied into the diagram as simple links, and messages flowing between them.  Today, when we put the package under version control all of the messages disappeared from the diagram!

It looks like the messages are still in the database for the component object when we click on the Link tab of the component properties.  The components are stored in other version controlled packages.

We are using Subversion for our package control, EA Professional version Build 6.1.768 and are using an EAP file on a shared drive.

Is there some way to get the messages to reappear in the sequence diagram?  We've tried export/import from a backed-up EAP file, but the diagram still didn't show the messages.

It appears this isn't the first time this issue has arisen, however, there doesn't seem to be much detail in the forums:

Ok, thanx!  
and what about the bug I have posted about the messages lost in the sequence diagram, when using a SCC integrated with EA? Can you tell me whether there is a patch to this bug, or whether the new version (in the site today) has this bug solved?
Have a nice day!  

I had a serious problem while testing SCC integration with EA. The integration has been tested with MKS. When a Dinamic View package is configured to be Version-Controled, and then checked-out, checked-in and checked-out again, all of the messages in the Sequence Diagram are lost!!
Is it a EA or a MKS problem??

[timt]

Did you resolve this issue, we have the same problem and we are using CVS.

We're using the "shared packages" deployment model, i.e., everyone has their own local eap file but sharing the model and version control is done using the CVS integration and controlled packages.

Its seem that this happens when the packages in the EAP get out of synch with the XMI in CVS, it seems to depend on what order you do a Get Latest on the packages and sometimes you need to do a force reload, to get the diagrams update correctly.

[ckridgway]

We found that for sequence diagrams using Paste into diagram "as Instance of Element (Object)" rather than "as Simple Link" resolved the problem.  This required that we rebuild our diagrams.  But it seems to correct the problem.

[vineetgogia]

We were facing the same problem (or rather nightmare) with 6.1.786.

It is fixed in the later versions, we used 790 and is works fine.

try it out!

[Maarten]

We have a similar (but completely different) problem. We also create sequence diagrams with elements from version controlled packages (EA build 769). In our case messages do not disappear but unwanted messages appear on sequence diagrams.

When someone creates a sequence diagram, checks everything in and another user checks the diagrams out unwanted messages appear on the diagram. When you create a new sequence diagram and drag objects on it it is also possible that EA automatically ads messages.

I had a look at the EA repository and found out that the t_connector table contains the messages (Connector_Type = Sequence). For some of these messages the DiagramId = 0. Apparently these are the messages which appear on every sequence diagram and are automatically drawn when you create a new sequence diagram. My first assumption was that there is a difference between a hard delete and a soft delete of messages in a sequence diagram. Suppose you make a mistake when drawing a sequence diagram and you delete a message but only from the diagram (soft delete) instead of from the repository (hard delete). After looking at the t_connector table I had the idea that users could unintendedly soft delete messages. However, I was not able to reproduce soft deletes with a test project.

Moreover, we cannot get rid of these unwanted messages. We can delete them from the sequence diagrams or from the t_connector table but for one reason or another they reappear afterwards. Is this caused by checking in, working with multiple users,...?

Would upgrading to a newer version of EA also solve our problem?

[timt]

We moved in the end to the shared central database configuration. This helped the situation but does not completely erradicate it. We still get missing messages from time to time, but checking in and and undoing checkout again seems to reload the missing messages from the xmi files. However, if someone checks in when the messages are missing then this change gets propagated to the xmi and the messages are lost for ever!

[bli_cos]

I am encountering this problem also in v6.1.791, but in communication diagrams, not sequence diagrams.

I think ckridgway is on the right track when he/she says:

"We found that for sequence diagrams using Paste into diagram "as Instance of Element (Object)" rather than "as Simple Link" resolved the problem. "

but it is difficult to see how that applies to communication diagrams as all the entities are objects...

In my case, i have the communication diagram in one package and the objects in another. If i do a 'get latest 'on the objects package, the messages return, if i do a 'get latest' on the diagram package they disappear again. I feel like i'm quite close to understanding the problem but am still missing a piece... anyone from Sparx Systems listening?

Cheers,
Scott

[bli_cos]

Hey all,

Just to report that i am still experiencing this problem using the 6.5 Beta version, build 796 (on XP, SP2).

I can't help but think that it is something that i am doing wrong, considering that it is 100% reproducible, and i would have thought that trying to separate your entities out into a common package (away from your diagrams) would be pretty standard practice...

Scott