Author Topic: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?  (Read 12421 times)

Modesto Vega

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Re: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?
« Reply #15 on: April 04, 2022, 07:01:12 pm »
Paolo,
I get the difference between modelling and diagramming but the only thing that triggers a diagram change, a saveable diagram change, is a layout change. A name change does not trigger a saveable diagram change. This is not a huge issue but it would be nice if an enhancement is made to trigger a saveable diagram change when an element name changes.

P.S.: Health warning, I have only tested this with packages or elements extending packages.

wivel

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Re: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2022, 10:47:49 pm »
Saving a diagram only when the layout has changed, makes perfectly sense in 'classic' EA, but not so much when WebEA is added to the equation.

Seems to me that either we have to live with diagrams in WebEA, that might not correspond to the diagrams in EA, or to have EAWorker regenerate all diagram images based on the same EA diagram settings, set on the PCS Server.

When generating the diagrams manually, You can generate only 'stale' diagrams and/or linked documents. The documentation does not mention what it is, so I tried to change the text in a note, so see if the diagram then became stale. It didn't, so it wasn't generated.

Will put on my thinking cap and see if I can come up with a brilliant solution. Feel free to chip in :)

Henrik

wivel

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Re: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?
« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2022, 09:21:02 pm »
A name change does not trigger a saveable diagram change. This is not a huge issue but it would be nice if an enhancement is made to trigger a saveable diagram change when an element name changes.

Changing an element name can cause multiple diagrams to change. There are numerous causes for diagram contents to change without it being a saveable diagram layout change, e.g. changing notes, text, element names as already stated, element state when using diagram legends with 'Apply auto color', charts, custom SQL and I'm sure the list is longer. And there is also the case when importing diagrams into an EA repository

I see tow possible solutions. In sure there are more, but my limited intellectual capacity is at play here :)
  • Use events on all element changes in EA, to track if the change will cause Diagrams to be 'dirty' needed to be regenerated. Not a fan of this solution, since it will generate an overhead that is only needed when using WebEA
  • When I create and/or save a diagram in EA, the global diagram options is saved with it, for the EAWorker to use, when generating Diagram Images. That way the images will be generated based on the diagram options of the EA instance that saved the diagram, and not the options on the PCS Server.

Any thoughts?

Henrik

Modesto Vega

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Re: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2022, 07:30:35 pm »
It is a tricky one. My first reaction to the EAWorker and the role it plays was: "why is it needed?", "why are the diagrams not generated on the fly by PCS?". If I were to question that reaction and find a use case for the worker, I would say that it may make sense in the context of a publication workflow - i.e., to publish content which is ready for review or publication, content that has reached a pre-defined elaboration status. This is, of course, not the way Sparx works. Furthermore, the EAWorker could never be used in this way unless Sparx undergoes significant changes because the worker only publishes diagram images with any other content automatically published.

The main issue I have with WebEA with a fully functional EAWorker is that it makes all content available irrespective of whether it is ready to be shared or not.


wivel

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Re: Where do I set EAworker diagram generation options?
« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2022, 07:55:11 pm »
Yep, when you start to dig bit deeper, the solution seems more murky than I first imagined. There are the issues regarding and when a diagram is 'dirty', when and how EA Worker should regenerate diagram images, and how to handle copy/paste and imported images.

What you are touching here is, as I see it, only partly related to the EAWorker issue. In general, EA lacks review/publication functionality, that makes possible to 'finish up' in EA and having it reviewed before it gets published in WebEA. And then again, for review purposes, it should be published in WebEA, but only for those who need to review it, which brings up versioning? How can keep the original diagrams visible to the general public, while having the next version available for the reviewers. And how to promote once the new diagrams have been approved?

My brain hurts.

Henrik