Messages

1

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Documentation output to docbook format

« on: November 19, 2008, 05:42:23 am »

Actally, I had asked on their page for support for the  OpenDocument (.ODT) format - as it is an open standard for office documents, easily parseable and changeable programatically, and implemented by a host of office applications, with more coming out each month.

2

Suggestions and Requests / Re: SSKeyStore tool

« on: January 25, 2010, 09:44:29 pm »

I will note that we have set-up a  workaround here to be able to create logs (and thus graphics) on license usage. Our current solution involves using GUI automation APIs to read the information displayed on the official Sparx license monitoring app.  It does so at configured time intervals, and creates a log of current license usage - including originating department (which is our real need around here).

There is no I.P. infringement on Sparx's material whatsoever, since the software just records on a file whatever is displayed by the application itself (we could otherwise place a trainee to write down the instantaneous license usage each 30min, using the license monitoring tool  :-p  )

And, yes, I can share our monitoring script with whoever is interested.  

3

Suggestions and Requests / Re: SSKeyStore tool

« on: September 10, 2008, 09:31:57 pm »

If you say so due to concernes about people using more licenses than they have, based on it - that would be one of the most fool things I had ever heard. Respect to the licences purchased must exist on a trust basis - when trust is not enough, only auditing or forensics could help.

With the "obscure thus safe" current format, nothing prevents one of setting up different license servers and reusing whatever license numbers they have. Therefore this would be  a very poor excuse not to open the file format.

4

Suggestions and Requests / Re: SSKeyStore tool

« on: July 29, 2008, 04:01:29 am »

We are implementing a way of tracking then here, without reverse-engineering the license binary file.
By serving the licenses from a Posix machine running Samba, we montiro teh Samba logs for changes in the license file - and tehrefore know when somone picks or releases a license. That is logged in a database.

We should put this in porduction this week - I am authorized to distribute the monitoring script for other parties once it is ok.

5

Suggestions and Requests / Re: SSKeyStore tool

« on: June 17, 2008, 11:18:41 pm »

Hi -
is there any preview for such an API?  A documentation of the file "sskeys.dat" would suffice.

At my organization we have somewhere between 120 and 150 licenses, but he administration would like to see (graphical) reports on daily license usage so we can judge whether to request more licenses or not.

An enhanced version of the Keystore tool that could generate logs would be even better.

6

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Linux support

« on: January 07, 2009, 12:05:50 am »

While we are at it - I've got it working tosome degree of sactisfaction with Wine - but I can't manage to connect to a DBMS for keeping the model.  Did you get to do it from within Wine?

7

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Check In Branch in one shot

« on: February 05, 2009, 12:22:32 am »

Agreeded -
not only would that avoid redundant steps, as it is the right way to work with most version control systems. Withthe seaprate commit system we have today, when checking from EA we actually have non atomic model transactions on teh versioned model.

I think I good way to do it would be, at the check-in dialog, to have a pannel where one could mark other checked-out packages to be commited in the same V.C. transaction.

8

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Restrict element status change for user group

« on: January 07, 2009, 12:03:23 am »

Hi Daniel -

this "state machinne"  ability is obviosuly a need by a lot of proccess. In our organizatin we have opted to export EA elements via CSV and track their state in a ticketing tracking software with proper support for a state machinne. For the moment the ticket software is Jira.  Of cours, with the use of jira in paralllell the overall usefullness of EA drops dramatically.

9

Suggestions and Requests / Navigation controls for the properties dialogs

« on: September 29, 2008, 11:54:17 pm »

Hi Folks and poeple at Sparx -

One simple feature that I think could vastly improve the user experience in EA is adding simple navigation controls to the properties dialog.

The  properties dialog is the way one has to look at the artifacts in the model - the natural way of looking at them.  As the interface is today, if I have a list of elements on the Project Browser and want to quickluy open then in sequence in order to get familiarized with the contents of the package - or perhaps even for updating some propertie in all of then like Phase or Version, I have to:
1) double click on the element in the project browser
2) Do whatver I want in the properties dialog
3) Close the properties dialog (clicking on Ok or Cancel)
4) double click on the next element in the project browser

--Step (3) is cumbersome and needless froma  user point of view. Step (4) could be allright if it could be done with the dialog still open

Now, if the properties dialog would simply feature four navigation buttons for "next, previous, up one level, down one level" actions that would navigate on the project window, this would be easier.

Some few usability tests could determien what would be teh best option for when there are changes on the artifact: either an "apply" button that would enable the navigation buttons, (thus they would be disabled on any chanegs to the artifact), or a small checkbox with an "auto apply changes"  - or some other unobtrusive  way.

What do you think of that?

10

Suggestions and Requests / License codes

« on: July 29, 2008, 04:55:22 am »

While not directly related to EA - rather to the license codes provided to registered users:

Could Sparx change the license code schema so that the letter "O" would no longer be used in licenses?
Depending on the font used (including the one used in the PDF with the  licenses we get form the distributors) - it is hard to tell apart the letter "O" from the number zero (0). It is minor bothering, but we could do without that when typing license codes.

11

General Board / Re: Team work - few questions

« on: December 31, 2008, 12:45:14 am »

Concerning (B) - we actually have opted for configurin each package and expórting it to version control manually due to this authomatic naming of packages.

As for the EAP file - it is strange to try and version it, and you might have problems because it can't be merged. You'd be better with each team member having his own .eaps or by stroign your project in a database engine.
(I am having a very hard time trying to get a working environment using a database engine, though - since I want it working in a platform indepent way, and EA  is iron-bound to windows)

12

General Board / Re: 'Not Equal' symbol [ch8800]

« on: September 17, 2008, 12:14:26 am »

In Unicode strings, most characters take 2 bytes. (There are a very few exceptions where additional bytes can be used to construct a composite character.) In general this doubles the size of string fields, with a corresponding increase in the total data size.

That would not be the case if the data was utf-8 encoded. (then most Latin cheracters have one byte, just special charatcers have more bytes). I suppose the 4.0 model would allow utf-8 encoding?

Otherwise, I'd really like to know why 4.0 is not the default model. The "Project transfer" task is soemthing taht feels very awkward.

13

General Board / Re: Problem starting an Oracle repository

« on: September 18, 2008, 12:22:36 am »

Indeed.

that was mostly it - the script had been improperly run, and a couple tables where missing.

Of course, a descriptive error message would have spared me sometime on this issue. Also, I could not say that crashing the application is a desired behavior for cases like this.  

14

General Board / Re: Problem starting an Oracle repository

« on: September 17, 2008, 04:31:16 am »

Just got the very same errors with jet-engine 4 and the new template.

The more I try using EA, the more drawbacks I see.  I am in charge of trying EA and paving out the way for the develoeprs and projects start using it for the projects around here. But things like this are jsut show-stoppers.

15

General Board / Problem starting an Oracle repository

« on: September 17, 2008, 12:18:14 am »

Hi,

I am having trouble transfering baseEAP.EAP to a new Oracle 10g repository. EA starts the process, and at about 1/3 of the progress bar, it gives me an "oracle error: table does not  exist". Ad 2/3 othe process it does that again, and crashes.

I am using EA build 832 and Oracle Database 10g Enterprise Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0, and uploading the oracle scirpts with sqlplus "load" option once I log-in the DB.

Has anyone else faced this? What are the possible work-arounds?