Messages

1

General Board / Re: Importing db Column Notes (Descriptions) via Export / Import

« on: November 18, 2025, 07:32:23 pm »

Geert's Excel tool 100%! 

<Cue the Mandalorian> "This is the way"

2

General Board / Re: Best Practices for Modeling a Multi-System Integration?

« on: October 11, 2025, 10:06:01 pm »

Hello
here's my 2c!
1c: do not let your notation drive your model documentation: pick a methodology and then document your systems, processes and data accordingly
2c: Archimate is not the best for understanding the relationships and constraints between data, processes and systems, I think it's easier and more effectively done with UML
OK I lied here's the 3rd cent: don't focus on the diagrams to understand data, processes and systems: the diagram are just small windows into the overall model... the model is the XMI file (or the combined content of EA tables).  This is very Zen but if you understand the difference between a model and diagrams your life will become much easier... at least that's my experience

Good luck!

3

General Board / Re: Incomplete or Buggy Snowflake DB Engineering

« on: July 19, 2025, 12:48:57 pm »

I had a few emails with Sparx sales and support because I bought the 17.1 license specifically for Snowflake and it failed completely to reverse engineer our database.  The parser threw errors where schema names were enclosed in double quotes (as needed) and when view columns had masking statements (as needed).  There were so many parser errors that I could not determine what else it could not do.  Sparx was nice enough but I recommend all interested to also email Sparx sales to increase the visibility of the fact that their product is useless for Snowflake and encourage them to come quickly up with a fix!

4

General Board / Re: Incomplete or Buggy Snowflake DB Engineering

« on: July 11, 2025, 10:05:38 pm »

I also have issues with Snowflake in EA 17.1.  I updated my license from 16 after obtaining written confirmation from Sparx Sales that 17.1 would reverse engineer Snowflake DDL.  it sorta kinda does -ish as long as the DDL is very plain.  In my case reverse engineering fails when views DDL has column masking statements.  So I have to manually edit the DDL before it's run thru EA. 

I really expect that Sparx matures its Snowflake offering before my license needs renewal!

5

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Enterprise Architect and AI

« on: July 01, 2025, 09:08:00 pm »

No you still need a brain.  And lots of hard work. 

6

General Board / Re: Publish to Standard HTML

« on: June 20, 2025, 09:56:48 am »

I have the same problem... would be good to get a solution from Sparx!

7

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: v16 Database Builder does not read VIEW COLUMNS from Oracle DB

« on: May 24, 2025, 12:07:41 am »

I think this is normal.  I extract the column names by querying Oracle metadata and import them into the model with the Belleken importer.

8

Uml Process / Re: Best UML Diagrams for Requirements Gathering?

« on: May 16, 2025, 08:52:08 pm »

Use case diagrams for sure - but there's an art to structuring them to maximize their value. 
Under each use case, one or more sequence diagram.  The sequence diagram is by far the best way to capture who is using what information, what attribute, how they use it and why.  This is invaluable for data modeling but also system architecture, and also test definition.
Activity diagrams don't add much value beyond maybe user interface design as they just show procedural steps without capturing what information is used, where it comes from, where it goes to.  Personally I avoid them.

My 2c good luck!

9

Bugs and Issues / Re: Enterprise Architect Database SQL Issue

« on: February 27, 2025, 10:00:16 pm »

ChatGPT to convert DDL code from one DBMS to another?  Never tried it but may be worth a shot...

10

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: How to add PK to columns of tables via DML operations?

« on: November 20, 2024, 03:20:48 pm »

YESSSSSS!  Thank you very much

11

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / How to add PK to columns of tables via DML operations?

« on: November 20, 2024, 02:48:53 pm »

I reverse engineer several database types by querying their metadata objects, exporting to Excel and using Office MDG to import into EA (16.1).  Works well except that primary key columns are imported as <<pk>> stereotype but in EA it is treated as any stereotype and the PK -  NN boxes in the Properties window remain unchecked: EA does not recognize it as a primary key.  So I have to manually check the PK box for every column with a <<pk>> stereotype.
I would like to do that via a DML script like (pseudocode:) UPDATE t_attribute SET somethingsomething = 'pk' WHERE stereotype = 'pk' .  But In Inside EA book I could not find what table column needs to be updated and how.  If anybody knows please help!  Thanks!
ps sorry no time to learn VB or scripting languages... my only option is to run DML on the project database

12

Uml Process / Re: Sequence UML loops question

« on: November 15, 2024, 08:38:39 pm »

Take a look at combined fragments

https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/17.0/modeling_languages/fragment.html

13

General Board / Re: Elements and Associations are moving on their own...

« on: October 10, 2024, 01:57:57 am »

Use lock diagram menu (right click on the diagram)

14

Bugs and Issues / Re: Transfer from QEA to EAP fails

« on: September 03, 2024, 07:18:29 pm »

Looks like a wise suggestion from the Sparx gods.  Isn't MS access going to be discontinued?  (And the word will be a better place for it...)

15

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Questions regarding Time Aware Modeling

« on: August 27, 2024, 09:22:27 pm »

Does UML support relationships between (different) relationships?

Not explicitly, but several of the relationships (eg. Dependency) have ends defined by types that include a number of relationships.

That doesn't necessarily mean that it's expected. LiteralNull is also a specialization of Element, so you could also have a dependency on a particular literal null. I don't think that's a reasonable interpretation of the intention of the specification.

Surprisingly I can draw a trace relationship from a relationship to itself in SparxEA. Is this intended?

I don't see a constraint on the specification that disallows it. You could argue that it's not expected by the authors of the spec, but I don't know how end users are using it. If you don't think it makes sense, don't use it.

I vaguely remember that in UML a relationship is a class and as such it can have its own associations to other classes.  In EA I can draw an association between a class and an association (eg intersection entity in a ERD diagram).  Am I remembering it wrong?