how to merge two project files of EA

[Puspak]

Hello,

On same project file, user1 and user2 worked on different UML diagram.
How can we merge both these modified project files ?

[PeterHeintz]

Hi Puspak,
I do not really understand your question. If those users did different things but on the same model there is nothing the merge!?

[Puspak]

We have a project file on EA for our whole product and it has UML diagrams for all the features of the product.

Lets say developer1 updated an UML diagram for feature1 and same time developer2 updated UML diagram for feature2.
So in this case, their respective project file is at their computer. But to place in a common place, both the features has to be merged.

So we do not know how to merge these both.

I think I explained it in a little better way. Please let me know if any further ambiguity. 

[etaha]

You could use shared repository (e.g. MySQL) for all of the team members and this will fix merge issue

[PeterHeintz]

Or; if you have less than 5 users working in parallel, just put the eap file on a shared folder. An eap file in fact is a MS Access file, so a few people can work in parallel on the same file.
In your case to get the things again together, consider import and export, but do not continue with your current work style.

[Puspak]

Thanks Peter for the reply.
We can use shared feature as you mentioned.

So for current issue, I think you are suggesting to exporting to XMI , merge and then import.

[qwerty]

Not really. You can not merge XMI (or it does not save you any work). You need to decide for one model to be the base and change that manually with what the other user did. From the on use that as base for a shared work. The only way to merge is, if you have independent (!) packages where you can export them via XMI and re-import them in other models. This replaces the whole package. If elements from this package are used in diagrams outside the will automatically be updated. Dividing a project into externally manageable chunks is difficult.

q.

[Uffe]

Hello,


To clarify: in order to be able to merge changes, you must have decided beforehand that you will want to do that.

The two modellers must have worked in the same package (by GUID, not by name) in two different projects. Otherwise, the only option is to manually redo the changes from one model in the other.
Working in the same package in two different projects can be achieved in a few different ways; using copies of the same project, or external version control, or baselines, or reusable assets. (There's also a feature called "time-aware modelling", but it looks like you haven't been using that.)

If you haven't used any of these, you can't merge changes after the fact because the two modellers haven't been making changes to the same package.

That said, you're talking about two different features which are to be merged into one. That's not what's usually referred to as merging. That's more like restructuring a project to combine two different models, or parts of models, into one.

If that's what you're after then that is definitely a manual job. It's not two versions of the same thing that need merging, but two different things which are to be combined -- and there's no way of doing that that doesn't require interpretation of the model contents, ie actual human understanding.


/Uffe