Dana (and Paul of course),
Check out the help pages - or the feature pages on the Sparx site - that refer to data modeling. You'll find the name and authors of the profile. Then look up the book - there's really only one that goes into it in detail - that defines the profile.
You might have trouble finding a copy. It was out of print for a few years, and I don't think it has come back. That said, I got one when it was first published, so I don't really pay attention to it's current availability. Perhaps it has been released again in soft or hard copy. And you'd likely find it in a good technical or public library.
This is a profile that came out of Rational - I'm pretty sure it dates back to near or before the time IBM acquired them. It was certainly not a standard, and it left some loose ends, but it was a pretty good start at the time. Until we see something more rigorous, something that actually gets standardized, this is likely the best we can do.
Sparx has taken this thing somewhat beyond its original bounds, but it certainly suffers from some legacy limitations. I can understand why Sparx does not put too much effort into adding more here, since sooner or later it will all have to be replaced (when a standard does come along).
Some time ago the OMG was moving in this direction. For quite a while there's been no public word, but these things often move very slowly.
David
PS: I'm not suggesting you read the whole book to discover any great revelations. But a quick scan will give you an idea where the original authors were coming from, which will help you understand why the Sparx implementation works the way it does. The good news is that the book is fairly well written, and not overly thick.
