Use Case relation not in quicklink or relationship matrix

[Geert Bellekens]

Details:
The Use Case relation between Actors and Use cases is not accessible from the quicklink or from the relationship matrix view on a diagram.
The relation is still available from the toolbox, and EA doesn't complain about it, even with the option "strict connector syntax" enabled.
If the connection is indeed valid, it should be accessible from the quicklink and relationship matrix. If it's invalid, EA should not allow it with strict connector syntax.

Steps to Reproduce:
- Create a use case diagram
- Add an actor an a use case
- Use the quicklink from the actor to the use case.
- Notice that the use case (Use) relation is not available
- Switch to the relationship view
- right click on the cell between actor and use case and click Create New Relationship
- notice that UseCase relation is not amongst the options.

Reported

Geert

[Richard Freggi]

Didn't we just conclude in recent posts that this relation is not UML compliant and Sparx will not remove it from toolbox only due to past compatibility?

Methinks you are safer using Association for actor-use case link.

[Geert Bellekens]

Didn't we just conclude in recent posts that this relation is not UML compliant and Sparx will not remove it from toolbox only due to past compatibility?

Methinks you are safer using Association for actor-use case link.

I agree that using associations might have been the better choice, but that's not the point.

Either it is a valid connection, and it should be available in the quicklink, or it's not a valid connection, and the strict connector syntax flag should not allow you to make the relation.

Now it's a "sortof valid but not really" situation.

Geert

PS. Changing to using associations is not trivial. We would have to update the guidelines, change the validator rules, migrate the existing model, so we are not taking that decision lightly.

[Paolo F Cantoni]

Didn't we just conclude in recent posts that this relation is not UML compliant and Sparx will not remove it from toolbox only due to past compatibility?

Methinks you are safer using Association for actor-use case link.

I agree that using associations might have been the better choice, but that's not the point.

Either it is a valid connection, and it should be available in the quicklink, or it's not a valid connection, and the strict connector syntax flag should not allow you to make the relation.

Now it's a "sort of valid but not really" situation.

Geert

PS. Changing to using associations is not trivial. We would have to update the guidelines, change the validator rules, migrate the existing model, so we are not taking that decision lightly.

(my emphasis)
As I have said many times:
"It's better to be consistently wrong than inconsistently wrong!"

As Geert says,  EA is currently "inconsistently wrong".

[Geert Bellekens]

Response from Sparx

The UseCase connector got missed when moving the quicklinker to UML metamodel-based generation, it not being a UML 2.5 connector. I will record it as a regression issue, although I don't know if a fix will be prioritized. It should be possible to add the quicklinker definitions to your own profile using the metarelationship connector.
We will fix the relationship matrix issue. The issue id is : 21016824

Geert