Messages

1

Suggestions and Requests / Add Attribute Values to Object Diagrams

« on: November 06, 2008, 03:18:53 am »

My suggestion is to add the functionality to define specific attribute values in Object Diagrams and show them on the graphic compartment, while at the same time keeping the relation to the class attributes.

In such a way that, if I change an attribute name on the class (or delete it), the corresponding change is reflected on the object diagrams.

I am working a lot with Object Diagrams and such functionality would ease the current update efforts. Currently I am using Notes attached to the objects, so you can imagine the work...

2

Suggestions and Requests / Advanced Find in Project Browser

« on: November 06, 2008, 03:25:14 am »

This suggestion for added functionality is in fact related to my previous suggestion for the Object Diagrams. The fact is that I a have a great deal of repetition in the class names because of that, making Finds lengthy. The question could be solved if there was an "Advanced"Find, were I could restrict the find to a specific package or to certain type of elements (just objects or just classes).

3

General Board / Re: How to set minimum size for class in class dia

« on: November 05, 2008, 05:13:18 am »

Have you tried:

1. select all classes and from Properties in the context menu, select Feature Visibility and Wrap features;
2. From the main menu, select Element -> appearance -> Autosize or simply hit the Alt+Z key.

4

General Board / Re: EA repository backup

« on: November 05, 2008, 12:50:45 am »

You have presented interesting approaches to backup a DB repository.

I've just implemented a repository into PostgreSQL and also a version control supplied by Subversion (SVN). This gives me a sort of backup to the packages under version control, but is not the same as a DB Backup.

I am not a DBA, so I have simpler questions which you might answer:

If I use the backup facilities already existent in the database, should I consider:

1. Inclusion of Blob data;
2. Inclusion of OID's?

Apparently, and just checking the schema, none of the data types is being used by the EA repository, so I can disable their support in the backup. Is that so?

5

General Board / Re: XMI Package Import: Duplicate IDs

« on: September 12, 2007, 07:17:06 am »

News from Sparx support on the 'XMI Import' bug:

It is no bug, or at least, not a generic bug. It has to do with the particular project file I am using as source.

Following support advice, I applied a 'Tools - Data Management - Project Integrity Check' and this revealed a lot of duplications and missing links within the project's note links. Those were corrected, but the generated XMI still gives duplicated IDs error!

Now, the better turn around to this problem, also from support, is to disable the 'Use DTD' check while exporting. This disables the parser and allows importing all the elements in the XMI (to the target project), at the cost of potential integrity problems, of course.

So, both hints should be used, uncheck 'Use DTD' and then apply a 'Project Integrity Check' on the target project.

The mistery that remains is what caused such errors to show in the original project?
No clue here, because I am not the author of such project. But those were the only errors existing in the project.

6

General Board / Re: XMI Package Import: Duplicate IDs

« on: September 07, 2007, 03:21:02 am »

Bug reported to Sparx Systems.

Actually, is version XMI1.x that is giving the import errors.

On some of the cases I got an export error using XMI2.1 version, I do not know if it is intirely related to the NoteLink duplicated IDs, because EA simply shutdowns.

It is another kind of error, though it could have a common cause.

7

General Board / Re: XMI Package Import: Duplicate IDs

« on: September 05, 2007, 11:56:53 pm »

I have tried already to check the "Strip Guid's" option, but the result is the same, because the duplication lies in the XMI itself, and not in one of my model elements.

My work around has been to actually comment duplicated elements on the XMI. Of course I loose related notes, sometimes important OCL statements! And is also somewhat laborious task.

8

General Board / XMI Package Import: Duplicate IDs

« on: September 05, 2007, 12:31:01 am »

Hi All!

I am a newbie concerning EA, while I have done some modelling in other tools like Poseidon. In my PhD research, there is the need to work with some ISO spatial classes, which should provide basic types to a higher level class model.

Both models (ISO and mine) are already defined in seperated EA projects, so I used the XMI package export function to produce an interchange file, with full roundtrip selected.

But when I try to import it into my model, I get a error message stating that there are duplicate IDs in the XMI, and the import fails.

After examination of the XMI, it seems the origin of duplication lies in some of the NoteLink objects. They really get the same ID as the source.

All in all, it looks like a bug in the export process...

BTW, unchecking full roundtrip and choosing versions UML2.1 and XMI2.1 can solve the question in most of the cases, but can also shutdown EA!

Any hints on how to get clean Import/Export between EA projects will be greatly appreciated.

JPHespanha
TUDelft, OTB Research

9

Bugs and Issues / Re: PostgreSQL Repository connection

« on: October 17, 2008, 10:59:01 pm »

Well, after getting a helping hand from Sparx support, here is an alternative way that is working (after testing with a not so complex project  ):

(first steps should go as previously described and according EA Help.
 This includes steps up to configuring the ODBC connection.)

1. Create an empty model with an empty package, as a EAP file;
2. Transfer this empty model into the PostgreSQL repository, with Project Transfer;
3. Load the source EAP file and export every package to a XMI file;
4. Connect again to the PostgreSQL repository and import each XMI file into the (empty) Model;

et voilá, c'est fini!

I hope that I am not returning to this section of the Forum with some issues concerning my next step: the setting up of a SVN version control!  

Regards,
JP Hespanha

10

Bugs and Issues / Re: PostgreSQL Repository connection

« on: October 15, 2008, 11:43:18 pm »

Now I have send it...

For the moment I will continue to work on EAP repository, but the intention is to setup a DBMS repository with version control from Subversion SVN...  A long way to go, it seems.

11

Bugs and Issues / Re: PostgreSQL Repository connection

« on: October 15, 2008, 10:53:22 pm »

Hi All!

I am not sure the problem I am having is due to the connection or to other configuration. Anyhow, this is what I have done:

1. Created an empty database into PostgreSQL v8.3, with native pSQL command line;
2. Connect to this database and run the script from Sparx, named 'Postgres_BaseModel.sql'. I assume it is the latest;
3. Check that the empty database is created in PgAdminIII. It has a total of 98 tables, 19 sequences and 1 domain;
4. Create an ODBC connection to this database, with the psqlODBC driver v8.03 supplied by Postgres. I am using PostgreSQL Unicode, once the database was created with UTF8 encoding (is this OK?);
5. Configure the Project Transfer in EA (v7.1) so it will load data from an existent EAP file to the PostgreSQL empty database. The connection test is successfull
6. Now, the transfer starts, but when reaching t_image I got an 'abnormal program termination' and EA suffers a CTD...  

Looking into the database with PgAdminIII (after the crash), I see it is really partly loaded with data.

I have the EAP file on a local network drive (not shared) and the PostgreSQL server on my machine (localhost).

My PC has the Windows XP Pro with SP3 in English-US language.

Any hints / alternatives to get the Repository into PostgresSQL?

12

Uml Process / Re: OCL and Tagged Values

« on: November 13, 2007, 04:07:14 am »

Glenn:

I am not a specialist at using OCL, I have use it in my domain model as part of my current research. I defined OCL invariants applied to properties (attributes) and association ends or association classes. There is nothing on the OCL specifications concerning the use of OCL on tagged values, so this is a "non-normative" area for now.

Applying a modeling focus, I guess it would be possible to include the tags as elements of a supporting metamodel, and then define usual OCL expressions on that metamodel.

Regards,
Joao

13

Uml Process / Re: How to model physical sites and locations

« on: November 09, 2007, 11:11:33 am »

Michael:

This is the sort of thing I want to (at least partially) solve with my research on a UML Profile based on the Simple Features Access for SQL.

There are indeed a number of standards to use, from the more generic ISO19000 series standards to more specific and happily simpler ones.

One example is the Simple Features, which is based on the Geographic Markup Language (GML) from the Open GIS Consortium.

The GML is by its turn based on the ISO19000 series.

Currently, most databases supporting geometry types are following the SQL/MM standard, which for the spatial part is in close agreement with the Simple Features.

My profile will be specifically suited to the open source PostGIS extension to PostgreSQL database. So, it will be already a PSM, or plataform specific model. But with little effort, I guess it could apply to other spatial databases as well.

Another (very interesting) possibility is to build a truly object-oriented application model from the UML. I am also considering this trend in my research; this would be implemented into Eclipse EMF platform and/or using Hibernate (always with the Java programming language as basis).

I searched a lot for such an UML Profile and do not find anything really usefull for my research, but the closer match was from the Italian Intesa GIS project, through GeoUML. Even so, does not supply an UML Profile, just a definition of geometry types and topology, based on ISO standards.

There were also a number of other spatial profiles using UML in related research, prototypes and even production models, but they did not follow ISO, OGC and SQL standards.

Finally, network features do exist in GIS (even on open source ones like PostGIS), but they are not considered 'Simple Features', and as such will be left outside the UML Profile.

Spatial Networks would justify a new UML Profile  

14

Uml Process / UML Profile for Simple Features Access for SQL

« on: November 08, 2007, 09:58:29 am »

Hello all!

As part of my current PhD research, I am trying to specify a new UML Profile to apply to UML Class diagrams representing spatial features, that is, using geometry types.

I am using PostgreSQL's PostGIS extension as reference for the actual geometry types, but I think it could be applied to any spatial database system which complies to the Simple Features Access for SQL specification.

Currently, also geometry types from SQL/MM ISO/IEC standard are also being supported by such databases, and at least some will be added to the Profile.

I would like to receive any suggestions this forum members might have, but I can not attach the EAP file itself, so I will just insert pictures with the Class (Domain) diagrams from EA.

If somebody has any suggestion on other way to interact, with or without EA software, ideas are also most welcome.

Looking forward to hear from you,
Joao Paulo Hespanha
PhD Student, OTB Research Institute,
TUDelft
The Netherlands

15

Uml Process / Re: Actor stereotypes not showing on Use Case

« on: September 28, 2007, 02:49:24 am »

Thanks for all the attention and answers provided to the issue (not anymore;D) I presented.

In any case, I think that if those stereotypes are intended for classes in business modeling (or Analysis toolbox in EA), then they should not show on the list of inbuilt stereotypes for a Actor on a Use Case. The only stereotype that should apply, 'business actor', does not show in the list of inbuilt stereotypes.

Notice that I am using an old version (6.5.797), so perhaps this has been already corrected.

To show the different nature of Actors I am applying drawing styles and legends to the Use Cases diagrams - a graphical solution - but perhaps the best solution for my case would be to produce a business use case analysis.