Messages

91

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: VersionControl Configuration -- Overview

« on: June 03, 2008, 05:46:12 pm »

small correction:

4)
table t_package attribute "PackageFlags" part "VCCFG= .."

the name of profile used by given package

XML file mapping is in attribute XMLPath

92

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / VersionControl Configuration -- Overview

« on: June 03, 2008, 05:32:16 pm »

This is not a question, but an overview of setting VersionControl as we have discovered.
We have EA models in SQL database and use ClearCase to version it, we have  quite a lot streams as well as users working with EA.
We had a lot of problems, when users had set the VersionControl inproperly, because  checkouts from an old version of XML file damaged the whole EA database.
We tried to find out the way how to set the configuration for each user automatically. Here are our results, I hope it will help someone :

1)
"c:\Documents and Settings\LOGIN\Application Data\Sparx Systems\EA\paths.txt"

file containing mapping of prifile name to root directory

2)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sparx Systems\EA400\EA\OPTIONS]
"VCConfigs"= ...

users registry informing which profile has been mapped to an root directory by an user. Only if the profile is mentioned here, EA looks up to the file paths.txt for the mapping

3)
table  "t_genopt"  attribute "Option" in EA project database

contains list of profiles used by EA project ..this list influence the enumeration of profiles in VersionControl setting dialog in EA.

4)
table t_package attribute "PackageFlags" part "VCCFG= .. ;"

mapping to XML file for given package

5)
table t_package attribute "IsControlled"

flag (0|1) informing whether the package is VersionControlled


We have written an internal tool setting the proper configuration for each user, matching our concrete environment and thus eliminating damages of our models.

Any suggestions and other discoveries are welcome ;-)

93

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: accessing EA variables

« on: April 01, 2008, 12:24:36 am »

it is stored in table  usys_system in EAP.
I have problem that it is the property of the project, not of an user.

94

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Addins problems

« on: November 20, 2007, 10:33:19 pm »

Info for all interested:

[20.11.2007 sparx support]
We have been able to reproduce both of you issues and have logged these to be fixed in a later release.

Issue ID: 07111442
Description: PostNewAttribute is not broadcast when adding columns to a table stereotyped element

Issue ID: 07111435
Description: Not possible to retrieve Attribute object during OnPostNewAttribute event

95

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Addins problems

« on: October 14, 2007, 09:43:31 pm »

I suppose you answered ad 2)
But this event has only Repository and AttributeID parameters,
so that I have no Element whose attributes I can inspect ...

96

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Addins problems

« on: October 14, 2007, 07:33:29 am »

Hello,
I try to create some addin and I have met the following problems I couldn't overcome:

1)event EA_OnPostNewAttribute is not called for atributes (<<column>>s) of <<table>> class.

2)this event has input parameter Attribute.AttributeID,
but there is only Repository.GetAttributeByGuid method to lookup attributes.
But AttributeID is not the same as AttributeGUID.
How can I look up the attribute being created?

Thank you for any hint

97

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Check-in files in Clearcase

« on: October 17, 2007, 11:46:56 am »

This is a good starting point:
http://enterprise-architect.biz/EAUserGuide/package_2.htm

but this part of API (controlling versioning) we have not tested yet, so I can't give you any other advice except one:
Be patient, documentation is very poor, and API is still developing  so that it's quite buggy and official support not answering.

98

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Check-in files in Clearcase

« on: October 16, 2007, 02:47:33 am »

It was maybe misunderstanding of my reply.
I didn't say you have the problem with disconnected view, I just described behavior we discovered when the view is disconnected.

EA uses/touches  XML file only in these situations as I know:
1) checkin to CC --> serialize the part of the  model into XML
2) checkout from CC --> deserialize content of XML file into model (the current content of the model is deleted)
3) checking if the part of model is permited to modify (is checked out) --> works onky if the EA sees the XML file

Changes  are not continuously written into XML, as you already discovered.

99

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Check-in files in Clearcase

« on: October 16, 2007, 01:28:32 am »

That's correct and it's a result of how EA works with these XML files.
EA works primary with its DB (EAP file|DB server) and XML file is used only in time of (de)serialization of a part of the model from/to it
and  as a lock of the part of the model.

You can try that if you have diconnected the CC view you use to store XML files so that  EA couldn't find them, you can modify the model even if it's not checked out. -- it's also very dangerous thing ...you can loose some work if you do this, and another one will do regular checkout replacing the part of the model from the XML file.

100

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Check-in files in Clearcase

« on: October 14, 2007, 09:50:16 pm »

..I just add some hints to OilyRag explanation.
I agree that it's better to have fine-grained model divided into small XML files that only one person can work with.
If you need to enable to work more people on the same part of the model at the same time, we discovered the most secured way is to use the same view under ClearCase by all these poeple-- but we try to avoid such situations anyway.

101

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Check-in files in Clearcase

« on: October 14, 2007, 07:46:44 am »

Hello,

I'm quite new to EA too but I will try to give you some overview how we use ClearCase with EA in our company:

It's not useful to versionate EAP file since it's database (binary file) and if you use some  database server to store the model it's not even possible.
It's better to select some (sub)tree (package/model) of the model and configure "Package Control" to store the content of the package to XML file. You will have the options to checkin or checkout this package available after this setting and versioning of the XML file makes more sense.

Not all parts of the model can be versioned in this way - for example defined stereotypes or another "Settings" issues. These can be serialized by "Tools - Export Reference Data" which creates the XML export file too, that can be versioned as well.

If anybody has same other experiences with EA and ClearCase I interested as well...