Stereotype update strangeness

[EoinWoods]

If a class is marked with a stereotype and you place an instance of that class on a diagram, the object is marked with the same stereotype.  This seems sensible.

There is however a slight problem related to updating.  If you change the stereotype of the class, none of the related objects have their stereotypes changed.

I think I understand why this is (so that the objects can have different stereotypes to their parent classes).  However, when you haven't changed the stereotypes in the instances, this is pretty surprising.

Could EA propagate the stereotype name change to all instances of the class that haven't had their stereotypes changed?

Cheers,

Eoin.

[JohnH]

...I think I understand why this is (so that the objects can have different stereotypes to their parent classes).

I don't think an instance object should ever have a different stereotype than its parent class. I've always interpreted a stereotype as being a subtype of the base class, which wouldn't change for the instance.

[EoinWoods]

I don't think an instance object should ever have a different stereotype than its parent class.

I certainly wouldn't argue with this - I never use different stereotypes on instances either.  In either case, I'd be really happy of stereotype updates could cascade from class to instances though!

Eoin.

[JohnH]

...I'd be really happy of stereotype updates could cascade from class to instances though!

I agree... that is important. Actually, I'm finding that support for profiles and stereotypes is rather thin in EA.

Yes, elements can be created and stereotypes assigned, and stereotype labels or pictures shown in diagrams or the project browser. However, stereotypes don't show up at all in selection lists, link lists, Matrix displays, and reports, etc. One stereotype is confusingly implemented - the objectflow, as some "check-box-indicated" adjustment to stateflow, but not as a unique base type or stereotype (for business modeling).

Some base types are confusing too. The base type "entity" supports aggregation but not generalization, while the similarly-used "actor" type supports both. Little seems consistent about stereotype and base type implementation. These things seem built into the EA code and are not customizable through table entries. Seems like a serious limitation for business modelers.

[sargasso]

One specific stereotype shortfall I'd like to raise is the custom GUIelement objects (themeselves a stereotype! )  Although they appear in the custom diagrams "correctly" as stereotype icons, the HTML documentation leaves the stereotyping off the object detail page.

It is easy to fix this by including the stereotype meta in the HTML "object medium" template, but I am wondering how many other places there are that stereotype or simnilar info is missing from the template.

[Fintan]

One specific stereotype shortfall I'd like to raise is the custom GUIelement objects (themeselves a stereotype! )  Although they appear in the custom diagrams "correctly" as stereotype icons, the HTML documentation leaves the stereotyping off the object detail page.

One other thing about stereotypes for elements.  If you create an object by dropping a Boundary/Control/Entity item from the toolbox it has the correct stereotype.  However when you create a class Classifier for the object, the class does NOT pick up what stereotype the object is set to.  I think the stereotype for the class should default to the stereotype of the object.

Regards,

Fintan