MDG Technologies with Tagged Value Types together

[Martin Průša CCA]

Hi Sparx,
we make MDG Technologies and use Tagged Value Types (TVTs) and I have two question, related to it.

1) If we want to deliver new TVTs to end user, we have to use Export Reference Data (Property Types) and then Import Reference Data. We also try to add TVTs to Generated MDG Technology file. But when we import the MDG, that TVTs are not imported. Do we make something wrong? It will be better for us, to use just one file (MDG) for import everything and not using two files separately.

2) Every TVT which we created have some description (Description attribute). When we use TVT in some class (e.g. attribute name Address and TVT with same name), we would like to have that Description of TVT in Notes of that new attribute. Is there some possibility to connect this together (Description of TVT with Notes of Attribute, which use that TVT as attribute type)?

Thank you
Martin Pr[ch367]ša
CCA Group

[qwerty]

Martin, there was a trick with that and I remember someone posted it here. But I neither remember the trick nor who posted it :-(
Maybe you try searching here: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/sparx-enterprise-architect-general

q.

[philchudley]

It may have been myself who posted the "trick" and I certainly delivered the trick at the Enterprise Architect European User Group meeting this year in London

If you have user defined TVs such as Memo, DateTime etc, the MDG Helpers in version 10 will certainly generated the correct attributes in the Stereotypes, but as has been posted, they do not get exported in the MDG despite them being included in the MTS generation wizard.

Here is the trick

[highlight]The ID of the MDG which is entered during MTS creation must be exactly the same name as your MDG profile as indicated in the <<profile>> package in your project browser.[/highlight]

The ID can include spaces, but cannot be more than [highlight]twelve characters [/highlight]long

If you need to rename your profile package, then you will also have to rename all references to it in toolbox and diagram profiles.

This should work OK.

Wouldn't it be easier if this was stated when the MDG created the project browser structure? Simply capture the name (which you have to enter) as twelve characters and use this to populate the MDG generation dialog? We can but wish and hope

Best of luck with your MDGs

Phil

[Martin Pr&#367;ša CCA]

hi guys,
thanks for replies.

ok so lets start with my question 1) and your answer - philchudley.

We have more technologies than just only one in one mts, so it is kind of impossible to name the MDG same as profile, but i tried, so:

Our MDG file contains:



So the name of profile (ID) is: ReturnCodeWS

We have some TVTs (with RET prefix):



Generate MDG Technology file with same profile ID:



And include TVTs:



Then on other computer I go for MDG Technology import, import is successfull and I restart EA. Then I look into TVTs and there is no TVTs with RET prefix:



Hope now I was more clear about what we want to do. Just to export and import TVTs together with MDG.

Any advices appreciated.
Thank you

[KP]

The tagged value types won't be physically imported into your model. They will remain part of your technology and will be used by stereotypes defined in your technology. To test whether everything is working as it should be, select an element in your model and press Ctrl+Shift+T and see whether your TVTs are included in the Tags list box, or better still, create one of the stereotyped elements that uses the tagged value type and check that it behaves as expected.

If you really do want your tagged value types to be imported into the target model, you will need to export and import as reference data.

[Martin Pr&#367;ša CCA]

Many thanks for you answer.

About that my second question (and I think that will not work too, unfortunately):

We create TVT with some description:



Then we use that new TVT in element:



Will be nice, if that Description of TVT goes to Notes of new element's attribute. Because that TVT description is good description of attribute, otherwise we have to copy it every time when creating new MDG Technology. This is because we want to let users see that description of attribute, when they using our technologies.