Messages

1

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Objects whose type is array-of-something

« on: April 11, 2005, 07:32:41 am »

Even when the 'Return Array' checkbox is checked in the definition of a method, when the method is used in a sequence diagram the fact that the method returns an array appears to be ignored: for example, if I define that myMethod returns Foo and check the 'Return Array' checkbox, currently when I invoke this method on a sequence diagram the method displays as "Foo = myMethod" whereas instead I think it should display as Foo[] = myMethod".

2

Suggestions and Requests / Objects whose type is array-of-something

« on: April 11, 2005, 07:18:55 am »

The 'Set Element Classifier' dialog should have a 'Array' checkbox.

If for example I create a class named Foo, then this checkbox should allow me to classify an object as being of type 'Foo' and/or of type Foo[]'.

3

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Initialize the "Author" field

« on: September 01, 2005, 10:51:05 pm »

Thank you.

4

Suggestions and Requests / Initialize the "Author" field

« on: August 31, 2005, 09:42:40 am »

We have several people authoring one model (using the Replication feature).

We want to know who authored which elements in the model.

People often forget to initialize the "Author" field when they create a new element (i.e. to select themselves from the drop-down list of authors).

The new feature I'm requesting is that the software be able to automatically specify e.g. me as being author of all new UML elements which I create on my machine.

5

Suggestions and Requests / Link to Package Note

« on: June 15, 2005, 12:58:34 pm »

I suggest a new "Link to Package Note" feature, similar to the existing "Link to Diagram Note" feature.

The purpose of this feature would be to display (on a diagram) the Note which describes a package. This would be especially useful in the first diagram of each package (i.e. the diagram which introduces the package): to display the package's Note on the diagram without adding the entire package to the diagram.

6

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Working with methods

« on: April 20, 2005, 09:14:19 am »

> As far as for first two requests, I am avoiding similar problems by NEVER using methods that are not defined in the relevant class in the first place.

Thanks. My fear was that if the method's signature (name+parameters+return type) is defined but then is changed by someone in the class definition, then this change would not be propagated automatically to the sequence diagrams on which the method appears.

7

Suggestions and Requests / Working with methods

« on: April 11, 2005, 05:09:53 am »

I'd like the following features related to methods and sequence diagrams; see also http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1112967862 for details:

* ability to find which sequence diagrams are using any undefined method
* ability to find which methods used in a sequence diagram are not defined in classes
* ability to find, for any given method defined in a class, the sequence diagram in which that method is being used

8

General Board / Re: Creating 'Notes'

« on: June 08, 2005, 04:13:05 pm »

Ah -- I've discovered that I want to use "Attach Note", followed by "Link this Note to an Element feature..." followed by selecting "Feature Type"="Element Note" on the "Link note to element feature" dialog.

9

General Board / Creating 'Notes'

« on: June 08, 2005, 02:55:01 pm »

What's a good way to create Notes that describe an element?

If I create the Note by doing "Attach Note" on a diagram, then on this diagram the Note *appears* attached to the element ... however this type of Note is *only* on the diagram (it does not appear in the Notes field of the element's properties, it is not forward-engineered into the source code, etc.).

On the other hand if I create the Note by typing it into the Notes field of the element's properties, this type of Note is *not displayed on any diagram* that includes the element.

So apparently there are two different kinds of Note: one kind is displayed on UML diagrams but not associated with the element to which it is attached, and the other kind is associated with the element but is not displayed on a diagram!?

10

General Board / Collaboration (aka Composite Structure)

« on: April 19, 2005, 10:59:15 am »

I create a "Collaboration" (e.g. as shown in the help in the "Composite Diagram" section), by dropping a new "Collaboration" object onto the diagram and then dropping existing objects (e.g. packages) onto the new Collaboration.

This creates a new Collaboration object.

The properties of the Collaboration object don't show that it's linked to (e.g. that it includes) the objects (e.g. the packages) of which it is composed. Is there a way to fix that?

11

General Board / Re: How to find all undefined types?

« on: April 11, 2005, 04:58:37 am »

A related issue is being able to find undefined methods, for example if I ...

* Define a method in a class
* Use the method in a sequence diagram
* Change the definition of the method in the class

... then the method used in the sequence diagram is now out-of-date or non-existent; but there's no way to tell that from looking at the sequence diagram.

I can't even use the 'Usage...'  dialog or the 'Find...' dialog to find where (e.g. in which sequence diagrams) the methods of a class are used: because the 'Usage...'  dialog isn't available for methods, and 'Find...' dialog doesn't find methods.

12

General Board / How to find all undefined types?

« on: April 08, 2005, 06:44:22 am »

On the "<classname> Attributes" dialog I can define (i.e. create) the attributes (i.e. the data members) of a class.

For example, I can define a new attribute whose Name is "m_bar" and whose Type is named "Foo".

The combo box in which I enter the Type name allows me to type in the name directly (it doesn't force me to use the combo box to select an existing, previously-defined Type from a list): and therefore I can enter a Type name such as "Foo" that hasn't been declared elsewhere in the model.

The same is also true for method parameters as it is for attributes: I can specify as a parameter a Type that hasn't been declared anywhere else.

Is there a way to find in the model these Types which are being used without having been delared? And/Or to find the classes that are using types that haven't been declared?

13

General Board / Distributed team

« on: April 07, 2005, 10:34:07 am »

We have a distributed team, w/ various people in various countries on different continents.

The EA options to support distributed teams seem to be:
* either everyone uses a single SQL-repository-based model via the internet and VPN
* or everyone uses EAP files and replication.

I think that I prefer SQL over EAP because ...
* more reliable (doesn't need repairing)
* less effort (doesn't need replicating/merging/re-replicating)
* more interactive (change made by one person are immediately visible to other people)
... is that so?

However I fear that editing the model may be excessively slow, for people who access the shared model via VPN from a different continent (using SQL via VPN within the same city already noticeably slower than using a local EAP file).

A possibility would be to use a different SQL server for each country, or some combination of SQL servers and EAP files, however an SQL-hosted model doesn't appear to support 'replication'.

So, what is a recommended mechanism for this scenario?

14

Uml Process / Re: Association or aggregation?

« on: June 23, 2005, 06:56:18 am »

http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?action=search2 isn'tt accepted by YaBB as a valid URL / search string ...

15

Uml Process / Re: Association or aggregation?

« on: June 23, 2005, 06:13:04 am »

Paolo,

> You may care to view

I see there that you had a question there like mine, recently.

> EA (for some reason) makes a distinction between an Association with associationKind (Aggregation: feature) set to other than none.  UML doesn't make that distinction.

Yes: that's the way the situation seemed to me. I found that confusing. I thought I should check it with you, especially since I'm not especially familiar with EA nor with UML.

> The current code generation process doesn't handle the creation of the destructor body to correctly implement shared versus composite aggregation, but one day, hopefully will.

I see. Perhaps for now you can do this by explicitly including the various species of [Boost] auto-pointer in the model, so that there's one-to-one mapping from the model to the [template] classes which implement who destroys what?

In any case I'm using C# so destructors aren't such an issue for me.

> For my part, I try to make sure I've got the aggregation right in the model and I ONLY use Associations, setting the Aggregation feature appropriately (on the appropriate end - as required).  A bit more work, but safer.  As you've seen, reverse engineering sets to Association as does XMI import (from most other tools).

Got it. Thanks for confirming that what I'm seeing is as-expected, and for telling me how you work-around that.

I found it especially confusing that the direction of the connector (not only the type of the connector) changes too: e.g. an aggegation from containee to container, or an association from container to containee.

Thanks again,
Christopher