Use toolbox of different MDG tech

[BTenbergen]

Hello Modelers,

I have a question regarding toolboxes in EA's MDG technologies. I have already searched the forum, the user manuals, as well as the internet to no avail and would very much appreciate your help.

I am trying to use a toolbox of a certain MDG technology in my profile. More precisely, I am trying to incorporate the SysML Interaction toolbox in the diagram definition profile that I made, which extends a Sequence-type diagram. The way I see it, is that when designing the diagram definition profile, I set the toolbox attribute in the metaclass specifying my diagram type (which at the moment is "Diagram_Sequence"). I then could create my own toolbox, which will subsequently show up in the Enterprise Architect's toolbox pane every time my diagram type is selected.

Now, what if I don't want to create my own toolbox? I found out that it is possible to simply use the default toolbox of my Sequence-type diagram (which would be UML::Interaction). But, since this is the UML Sequence Diagram toolbox, it's not quite what I need. Instead, I would like to use the SysML::Interaction toolbox, which features other elements and is somewhat more restrictive. Is it possible to specify the SysML::Interaction toolbox as the toolbox for my custom Diagram_Sequence?

I am using Enterprise Archtect 8.0 and the SysML 1.1 MDG tech.

On a related, but independent note...
It is my understanding that if I want to extend a diagram, I have to specify a metaclass that is one of EA's built-in diagrams. I understand that those are pretty much those of UML. What if I specifically want to extend, say, a SysML Internal Block Diagram? Or, when designing the profile, how can I create a stereotype that extends SysML::Block rather than UML::Class? At the moment, I don't see how that would be possible. Or do I have a fundamentally wrong understanding of things?

Thanks for your speedy reply! Any help is very much appreciated.

All the best,

Bastan

[KP]

Is it possible to specify the SysML::Interaction toolbox as the toolbox for my custom Diagram_Sequence?

I have no idea if it will work or not, but if it does you will need to specify either "SysML_Interaction" or "SysML1.1::SysML_Interaction". Let me know how you get on!

It is my understanding that if I want to extend a diagram, I have to specify a metaclass that is one of EA's built-in diagrams. I understand that those are pretty much those of UML. What if I specifically want to extend, say, a SysML Internal Block Diagram?

The SysML ibd extends "Diagram_CompositeStructure" so you would need to do the same.

Or, when designing the profile, how can I create a stereotype that extends SysML::Block rather than UML::Class?

You would need to extend Class and apply both «block» and your own stereotype to the same class element.

[BTenbergen]

Hi KP, (Hello Forum),

thanks for your very quick answer!

Is it possible to specify the SysML::Interaction toolbox as the toolbox for my custom Diagram_Sequence?

I have no idea if it will work or not, but if it does you will need to specify either "SysML_Interaction" or "SysML1.1::SysML_Interaction". Let me know how you get on!

Actually, both worked! I just tested it and wound up both times with the exact results that I intended, i.e. my custom diagram featuring the SysML toolbox. Thank you so much!
I would, however, suspect that specifying "SysML_Interaction" instead of "SysML1.1::SysML_Interaction" is the more robust way to do it. I can imagine that when a new revision of the SysML MDG tech comes out (which I am sure will happen at some point... after all OMG just came out with SysML 1.2 :-) ), and someone has that new version of SysML MDG installed, then "SysML1.1::SysML_Interaction" might not work anymore, while "SysML_Interaction" might still be OK. Just speculation, however.

The SysML ibd extends "Diagram_CompositeStructure" so you would need to do the same.
[...]
You would need to extend Class and apply both «block» and your own stereotype to the same class element.

Thanks for explaining. So, I take it that I can extend the SysML language (rather than UML) in Enterprise Architect by regularly extending EA built-in elements (which afaik are pretty much UML), such as "Diagram_xxx" or "<<metaclass>> Class", and then extending an SysML equivalent element from the same EA built-in element alongside my own stereotype definition? Then, I would wind up with two stereotypes extending the metaclass.

Thanks for your help once again!

Bastian