MDG Technologies: Extending ArchiMate v3.0

[Eamonn John Casey]

Hi!

I have a working profile based on ArchiMate v2.1 and am trying to update to v3.0. I am using EA v12.1 and the MDG from v13. I can model With ArchiMtae v3. No problem. I went through my MDG and replaced all occurances of '2' With '3' and it look find.

Problem is that I can only model with the elements I have extended. The Archimate3 elements in the toolbox are just grey boxes.

Any suggestions?

Eamonn J.

[PeterHeintz]

I am not an expert in ArchiMate, just a guess.
Maybe running the script mentioned by sunshine helps.

[Eamonn John Casey]

Hi,
The "Migrate" macro in the ArchiMate3 MDG just updates the diagrams. I have changed Our MDG metamodel to use Archimate3. But obviously I have missed something along the way.
All of my Extensions work just fine. It is the Archimate3 elements in my toolbox that doesn't work. Maybe I have to import the Archimate3 namespace into the MDG somhow.
Eamonn J.
Eamonn J.

[qwerty]

If you want to use A3 you have to enable the MDG...

q.

[Eamonn John Casey]

qwerty,

The A3 MDG is enabled and works just fine. In my MDG I have extended some A3 elements and they work fine. In my Toolbox before I changed the Archimate3::ArchiMate attributes to Archimate3::ArchiMate, they worked fine.
After I changed the attribute names to A3, the elements still appear in the toolbox. But they do not have an ArchiMate icon and cannot be dragged out to the modelling area.

I have modified MDGs before, but never to upgrade the underlying metamodel. So I am probably missing a step or setting.

Eamonn J.

[qwerty]

If they have no icon and you see the guillemets instead, your MDG is rotten. Unfortunately EA just offers this delicate information. "You made a mistake. Go figure"

I still wonder why rotten software (honestly not completely but will some very brown places) is still accepted by people. Nothing is perfect, not even nearly. But when the rain comes through the roof one should lay a few new plates and not pray for sunshine.

q.

[Glassboy]

I still wonder why rotten software (honestly not completely but will some very brown places) is still accepted by people. Nothing is perfect, not even nearly. But when the rain comes through the roof one should lay a few new plates and not pray for sunshine.

You seem to be saying that EA should have a fuzzy pattern matcher for XML and understand when people have made spelling or syntax mistakes.  As EA is a tool for experts I would expect that most people using it would have at one stage in their careers had to build a tool or script that had to cope with bad input and learnt the folly of trying to do anything other than focus on the quality of the source data.

I understand this worldview as little as I understand your insistence we should understand German idiom translated into English.

There is an entry barrier to using EA.  It takes outside knowledge and competency in using software.  It's not Powerpoint.  If it was Powerpoint  it wouldn't actually be useful for most of us.

[KP]

After I changed the attribute names to A3, the elements still appear in the toolbox. But they do not have an ArchiMate icon and cannot be dragged out to the modelling area.

Can you show us the XML that isn't working, please? If it's a typo, we need to know exactly what you've typed.

[qwerty]

You seem to be saying that EA should have a fuzzy pattern matcher for XML and understand when people have made spelling or syntax mistakes.  As EA is a tool for experts I would expect that most people using it would have at one stage in their careers had to build a tool or script that had to cope with bad input and learnt the folly of trying to do anything other than focus on the quality of the source data.

It seems I never get the point of what you are trying to say. I will just ignore your comments.

q.

[Glassboy]

It seems I never get the point of what you are trying to say. I will just ignore your comments.

Or you could just stop the constant comments about how you think EA is a pile of manure.  They're never helpful, they're unnecessarily insulting to the Sparxians here helping people, and we all got it about the 100th post ago.

[qwerty]

Why should I stop pointing on the "dark side"? I know the time of instant fixes has gone. But maybe if enough people join and start complaining there might come a fix. I can't hold my breath, but I can spill a lot of water drops.

And thanks for letting me know that this took you to a personal crusade against me. I'm feeling honored.

q.

[Glassboy]

Why should I stop pointing on the "dark side"? I know the time of instant fixes has gone. But maybe if enough people join and start complaining there might come a fix. I can't hold my breath, but I can spill a lot of water drops.

If you'd bother to read what the Sparxians write you'd realise they prioritise based not on people complaining, but on the value of the change.  I refer you back to Simon's comments in this thread http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,31278.0.html.  Your water drops are also why you've been voted the most unhelpful poster.

And thanks for letting me know that this took you to a personal crusade against me. I'm feeling honored.

No that's just your narcissism.  It would be just nice if you decided to behave in a more mature fashion.