Reverse engineer with MDG Link to Eclipse

[jVM]

G'day!
I've successfully connected to Eclipse' project. Now I want to make reverse engineering.
The topic "Performing Tasks with MDG Link for Eclipse/Round Trip Engineering/Reverse Engineering from an Eclipse" described how to do very detailed. One issue exist is next: described item for context menu "Synchronize the Model (reverse engineer)" does not appear in context menu for particular diagram and Ctr-R does not work.
Is it bug, missed feature of MDG add-ins or some work around should be applied? Thanx in advance.
I use EA SPARX 6.1.788 and Eclipse 3.1.0

[Eve]

Just a guess, but the option should only be available for class diagrams.  With your diagram open, select Diagram | Change Diagram Type from the main menu.  What does it say?

[jVM]

Hi, I've created Class diagramm from scratch, I've changed type of diagram, didn't help.

[Eve]

Then that's not the issue.

Do you have a class (or classes) selected on the diagram when trying Ctrl+R?

Or, are you looking at the context menu for the diagram (by right clicking on the diagram background) or the context menu for a class?

You'll need to have one or more current classes selected in order to reverse engineer.

Alternatively, right click on a package in the tree view and select 'Synchronise package contents'.

Does that help?

[jVM]

Hi, simonm

"right click on a package in the tree view and select 'Synchronise package contents'. "
I've done it. SPARX had performed something... (As far as I understood some kind of synchronization had been performed) but where the diagrams of reverse engineering?

[Eve]

That command doesn't create any diagrams.  It only updates each of the classes in that package from code.  I suggested that because it sounded like what you were trying to do.

You can get diagrams created by importing individual files onto a diagram, or by importing a directory structure. (And selecting the relevant option for diagrams on that dialog)

The automatically created diagrams will show all of the classes within one package.  In general these won't be as useful as diagrams intelligently created to show something specific.  These kind of diagrams are the type that you will generally want.

[jVM]

Simonm --
Thanx a lot for clarification.


I understood my mistake. Meanwhile I have to stress that the creation of the classes diagrams divided by packages during reverse engineering is common feature for any modeling tools that I used before (Together, Rational). This is really expected behavior because I know nothing about, say, some legacy code that I see for the first time and it is convenient to investigate it having the generated diagrams. And during reverse engineering are being performed rather investigation tasks than designing.

Another one unfriendly feature - this plug-in does not reflect changes in diagram to sources and changes in sources to diagram in realtime. Additional synchronization is necessary.

My opinion that it would be better to have SPARX perspective for Eclipse.

Best wishes!

[Daemon]

Hello jVM,

I use EA SPARX 6.1.788 trial with MDG Link for eclipse and Eclipse 3.2, but I can't connect any Enterprise Architect project to a Eclipse project. I've follow the instructions (copying the .jar in eclipse/plugins directory), but when the connect dialog appears, EA only launch another instance of eclipse and it can't get any of the proyects within the eclipse workspace, geting hanged.

How have you done it? I'll appreciate any help, thanks in advance.

P.D.: excuse me for my english, I'm not very proficient with this language, sorry.

[MattEland]

Daemon, I am getting the same error. Unfortunately, I just bought MDG Link and when I did the free trial I was using Eclipse 3.1.

Since there was nothing on the MDG Link for Eclipse that said it wasn't compatible with Eclipse 3.2, I bought it (in fact, it states that it is compatible with 3.x).

My guess is that the JAR they're using for Eclipse does not work for 3.2 and they need to make a new JAR.

I haven't seen any indication of an acknowledgment of this problem yet or heard any timetable for a fix and I'm a little concerned that I may have just blown $100 on a broken product.

[jVM]

Daemon,  I use EA SPARX 6.1.788 and Eclipse 3.1.0.
So, it seems that MattEland is right, this plug-in does not work with Eclipce 3.2.x

Regards, jVM

[MattEland]

Well, it's odd. I just tried it at work and my work 3.2 config seems to be different than my home 3.2 config because it was able to connect and recognize my workspace.

I'm wondering if it's a feature I have at home that I don't have at work that's causing problems or perhaps vice versa. When I get home tonight I will try connecting to 3.1 again just as a proof of concept and then see what I can do to my 3.2 settings to get the thing talking properly with MDG Link.

[MattEland]

I did an experiment and I found that MDG Link works with Eclipse 3.2 if I install Eclipse 3.2 fresh and didn't do any additional plugin configuration stuff besides adding in the MDG Link jar.

If you want to approach it that way you can. Just download the whole thing over again, install MDG Link jar, verify that everything works as needed, and then incrementally use find and discover features / manually install your old features and plugins until you're all set up again.

Personally, I plan on zipping up my functioning version at work and bringing it home since it's pretty much identical to what I use at home.

[Daemon]

Hello MattEland,

I have been making proofs (I thought .jar's MDG Link was broken too), and finally I get it works!

The last thing I've done was generate the Java source code of my EA project in the directory of Eclipse project I intended to connect, then I generated a class within Eclipse framework in that same project and then I tried to connect the projects with EA, and it works! It seems that MDG Link was finally able to recognize the active Eclipse project, nevertheless, I think this is a bit tricky and more effort must be spent developing a better link (without this problems and making a better integration between EA and Eclipse).

Thanks for your answers.

[MattEland]

That's a little messed up that you need to workaround that way. My guess is that EA needs to make a new Jar compatible with 3.2's plugin changes.