Messages

1

Suggestions and Requests / Is it any easier to resolve replication conflicts?

« on: June 13, 2011, 10:25:15 am »

As I have reported several times in the Bugs forum over the last couple of years, since sometime back in the version 7.1 days, I find it virtually impossible to intelligently resolve conflicts when merging a replica back into the design master.

I go to Resolve Synchronization Errors and look in Table with Conflicts and Conflicting Records and Conflict Details, and I see some cryptic stuff that is impossible to understand if one isn't a database expert (and even then, perhaps impossible to understand).

I have gotten many suggestions from people on the forum here, particularly Geert, and they have been very helpful and have helped us to the point where these constant replication conflicts are a serious inconvenience but not really a major calamity like they were.  Mostly, we re-sync to the design master often, so most of the time we get no conflicts and when we do, it's a dozen or two at most and not several dozen to a hundred or more like we got back in the beginning.

We have completely given up on being able to implicitly trust the database anyway, and so we are validating the output of the tool rather than the tool itself... we maintain a reference set of source files and then whenever we export source from the model, we do a diff to make sure nothing changed in the generated code.

But, I digress...

My question is,  EA draws diagrams based on the contents of the EAP database.  So, is it not possible for EA to read a conflicted database, draw in black those parts that are not conflicted, and draw in blue (for the original) and red (for the replica) those parts that are conflicted?  Then I could just go through and look for reds and blues on my diagram, and in each case delete the ones I don't want and save the others.  That would be a breeze, would completely and forever solve the problem, and this whole issue would go away almost immediately.

I am (still) using version 7.5.850 and we are unable to upgrade until this phase of the project is over (for many reasons including that this is now the devil we know), and I did ask for this almost two years ago, so is this or anything like it something that's available in version 8 or 9?  If not that, then is it at least easier in version 8 or 9 to figure out where the conflicts are and determine how to resolve them?

Thanks...

2

Suggestions and Requests / Displaying Notes in Attributes, not working

« on: July 30, 2009, 09:25:04 pm »

If I right click on a class diagram symbol and select Operations, I can then select an Operation and then select Behavior, make some notes about the behavior of the operation, check Show Behavior in Diagram, and click on Save, and the Behavior description will show up in the class diagram symbol under the behavior name.

THANK YOU for this... it has been a tremendous help in documenting my design in a way that some of the non-UML types on the project team can understand.

However... there doesn't appear to be any equivalent way to add Notes to Attributes.  If I right click on the symbol and select Attributes, I can add notes to each of my Attributes but can't make them appear on the symbol (or anywhere else on the diagram).

If there is a way to do this can you tell me how?  Otherwise, is it something you can add to an early new release?

Version of EA is 7.1 build 831.  As always, I'm willing to upgrade to the latest EA if it fixes this problem, though I really prefer not to change versions of my tools in the middle of a project unless there is a good reason to do it.

3

General Board / Re: Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 11, 2015, 12:59:43 pm »

As soon as the importer runs the layout function, the line styles are changed to custom by the layout.

Why don't the line styles conform to the Default style set by the user?

4

General Board / Re: Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 09, 2015, 12:16:42 am »

An import will not respect that setting. It's only for newly created connectors.

So I see.  So, back at square 1.

5

General Board / Re: Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 08, 2015, 11:26:32 am »

Try Tools/Options/Links/Default Style

Well, that didn't work.  I tried creating a whole new project, set Tools->Options->Links->Default to Direct, and imported the source files... lots and lots of the links still show up as bent with many elbows and bends.      

It seems Access 2010 will let me sort of edit Access 97 databases... guess I have no choice but to try that.  It's inconceivable that this problem, known for more than 10 years, hasn't been fixed... there has to be a better fix than this.  I've sent a note to customer support; hopefully they'll have a solution that wasn't obvious.

Eric

6

General Board / Re: Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 08, 2015, 05:13:19 am »

Well, either by hand  , using a SQL or via API. What would you prefer?

Wow, those are still the only ways after all these years (10 years) of this being a known problem?

There are many hundreds to a few thousand connections so "by hand" isn't going to work.  Back in 2005 they told me I could hand-edit the EA database using Microsoft Access, which I tried but even today it appears the database is still Access 97 or earlier, and newer versions of Access, even Access 2000, want to "upgrade" the database before allowing modification, after which of course EA will no longer be able to read it.

Maybe I'll try LibreOffice's database manager.  I should be able to make A Fine Mess out of (a copy of) the database with that  :-/.  Hopefully it's still the t_diagramlinks field, change Mode=3 to Mode=1.  Kind of hate to do that though since I'll have no way of knowing up front what else I might damage by doing that.

Eric

7

General Board / Re: Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 08, 2015, 04:44:09 am »

Try Tools/Options/Links/Default Style

And, there it is.  Thanks, q.

Now, for diagrams that have already been imported (and modified), how do I go about globally changing all of the links to Direct?

8

General Board / Import, then Diagram->Layout, routes messed up

« on: February 08, 2015, 04:03:20 am »

I do a LOT of reverse engineering with Enterprise Architect; in fact it's the vast majority of the work that I do with EA.

When I import a directory tree full of .h files into EA, I get classes all stacked in a diagonal line from top left to lower right.  So, I select Diagram->Layout Diagram, and the result is usually something I can work with, to manually lay out the class diagram tree the way I want it.

Except... all of the routes between classes have breaks and corners and elbows and if I try to move a class, the routes follow only to the first elbow.  This is not useable.

I've been looking since version 4.<something> for a workable way to either globally change all connectors to Direct, or specify Direct when importing, and have not found one.  I haven't had occasion to use EA since version 7.5 but now I'm getting re-familiar with version 11.1 and if this feature is there, I can not find it.

Thanks...

Eric in NH/USA
[email protected]
www.rkt-tech.com

9

General Board / Re: EA 9.0 and 7.5 coexist?

« on: June 21, 2011, 07:47:05 pm »

I'm working with both and have encountered no problems. Simply rename the EA folder to EA7.5 and install EA9. You can start the EA7.5 exe manually via dbl-click.

Good morning, q.

Well, it appears it won't allow me to do that.  It tells me I have to uninstall version 7.5 first and asks if I want to do that automatically, and when I say "no", it will not continue the install process.

10

General Board / Re: EA 9.0 and 7.5 coexist?

« on: June 16, 2011, 10:44:02 pm »

OK, thanks, Geert.  And I thought I was the only one still running 7.5! :-)

11

General Board / Re: EA 9.0 and 7.5 coexist?

« on: June 16, 2011, 09:51:04 pm »

So, you have run into no incompatibilities in the database format between 7.5 and 9?

12

General Board / EA 9.0 and 7.5 coexist?

« on: June 16, 2011, 07:31:18 pm »

Can EA 9.0 and 7.5 coexist on the same machine, to be called up as needed?

Are there differences in the database format (.eap) so that once a project is used with 9.0 it can no longer be used with 7.5?

13

General Board / Re: How to Branch and Merge EA Data?

« on: June 21, 2010, 05:23:52 am »

Don't replicas do pretty much what Stephan wants, or do I misunderstand his question?

I've had a fair amount of trouble with replicas in the past but things seem to have settled down to where they appear to be working pretty well.  Of course when you get a conflict it's a pain to deal with... as Wowbagger says, a tool like EA really, Really, REALLY should be able to graphically display conflicts and let the user pick the one he wants to save.

But all in all, replicas seem to work marginally well, well enough to where we're using them to keep two branches synchronized and so far, so good.

14

General Board / Re: Collaborative Space in These Forums?

« on: August 10, 2009, 04:03:38 am »

We could propose that any member aceptted into the group is first vetted someway (e.g. through their posts to the sparx system forums?) and the admin's would need to approve the addition of any new admin... etc.

Good afternoon, David.

If you make it too difficult or time-consuming to join, a lot of people who really have something to contribute won't bother because they have too much else to do with their time.

Many people who join these kinds of forums do so because they have a question that needs to be answered RSN, and they can't necessarily always afford to jump through all kinds of hoops and wait days to be given access... then when they do get access and get the answers they need, they often stick around and become valuable contributors.

I have tried joining a few discussion groups whose administrators are so full of themselves (and this SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT include this group or any proposed Sparx group) that they make us jump through so many hoops that I just gave up and decided it wasn't worth it.

My pet peeve is groups that include those little graphics with distorted strings of letters and/or numbers, and you're supposed to figure out what the hell it says (which is easier at some times than at others) and type it into a little box before the forum admin will allow you to post a message.  What a crock!

As for the problem cited early on, the one about the EA user group being flooded with job ads... I have often wished that THIS forum included a separate category for job ads and/or consultant requests or ads.  If such messages could be kept solely in those categories it would be a real value for some of us who are looking for local consulting help from time to time.

15

General Board / Re: Drawing an activity diagram

« on: August 12, 2009, 11:09:20 pm »

i am being tasked to draw an activity diagram.  

How may we help?

(I'm also using activity diagrams for the first time in a project... maybe we can learn together.)  :-)