Teamwork and model components

Objecteering model components

Model components, sometimes referred to as RAM components (reusable autonomous model components), are extracts of a larger model, packaged into a single file. They can contain model elements, tagged value and note types specific to certain MDACs and external files.

In a large scale multi-user development project, with several people working together at the same time and in the same workspace, it can be challenging, not to say difficult, to efficiently manage all the interactions that take place.

Model components allow you to increase your efficiency, by reducing the size of the different model extracts involved in a project, and the number of people working on any given model part. This means that each development team can progress in its own teamwork environment and according to its own schedule, without affecting the work of the other project participants (as shown in Figure 7).

Figure 7. Using model components

For more information on model components, please see "Working with model components" in the Objecteering Modeler User Guide.

Checking and updating deployed model components

Your Objecteering teamwork MDAC guarantees that your multi-user project is up-to-date in terms of the model components deployed in it, by checking deployed model components against the model component configuration file, and then by updating model components where necessary.

The "$MU/conf/ramcList.conf" model component configuration file (where "$MU" is the repository path) contains information on all the model components that must be deployed in your multi-user project, including their version number. This configuration file must contain one line for each model component that is to be deployed, in the following format:

"component name|version|path/to/archive.ramc"

Note 1: The "space" and "tab" characters are allowed around "|".

Note 2: The archive path must be a valid absolute path, or a path relative to the "$MU/ramc/" directory.

For example, for the JDK model component on a Windows shared directory, the line in the "ramcList.conf" configuration file would be as follows:

JDK_150_06        | 1.50.6 | \\server\share\ramc\jdk_1.5.0_06.ramc

For the same JDK model component in the "ramc" repository directory, the line in the "ramcList.conf" configuration file would be as follows:

JDK_150_06        | 1.50.6 | jdk_1.5.0_06.ramc

As a model component can need another model component, the list of the model components in the 'ramc_list.conf' should be ordered, in order to deploy the model components in the corresponding order.

For example, if we have two model components, "A" and "B", if the "B" model component depends the "A" model component, the "A" model component must first be deployed in the project.

So the order in the 'ramc_list.conf' file must be as follows:

A | 1.0.0 | A.ramc

B | 1.0.0 | B.ramc

If the model components are not deployed in the correct order, an error message appears and the import is aborted.

The check of the model components deployed in your multi-user project may determine that your project is out of date for one or both of the following reasons:

· certain model components present in the configuration file are absent from your multi-user project

· certain model components in the configuration file are present in your multi-user project, but in an earlier version

If your multi-user project is not up-to-date, your Objecteering teamwork MDAC can take care of updating your project, by deploying missing model components and/or updating model components that are present in an earlier version.

You can choose to let your Objecteering teamwork MDAC handle the model component update process entirely automatically, or decide to monitor the process more closely, by retaining control of the model component update prompt. For this, the "Confirm model component update" teamwork MDAC parameter is used:

· To have your Objecteering teamwork MDAC automatically take care of the entire model component update process, simply uncheck the "Confirm model component update" tickbox in the "General settings" teamwork MDAC parameter set. Your Objecteering teamwork MDAC will then automatically deploy missing model components and/or update model components to the correct version.

· To indicate that you want to manually confirm the update of each model component deployed in your multi-user project, just check the same "Confirm model component update" tickbox. In this case, your Objecteering teamwork MDAC will display a message asking you to confirm each model component update operation.

Your Objecteering teamwork MDAC will abort the model component update process if any of the following errors are encountered:

· if an archive path in the "ramcList.conf" configuration file is invalid

· if a line in the "ramcList.conf" configuration file cannot be parsed

· if a model component is deployed in the project but not declared in the "ramcList.conf" configuration file

If the "ramcList.conf" configuration file does not exist, the Objecteering teamwork MDAC will continue as before.

Model components and teamwork operations

When model components are deployed in a multi-user project, the elements they contain are not situated in the multi-user repository. These elements, as well as the model component itself, appear in gray in the explorer.

Model components and the elements they contain cannot be modified in any way within the multi-user repository, and teamwork MDAC commands cannot be run on them.