Geert Bellekens

Geert Bellekens

Geert Bellekens

Bellekens IT (Consultant)
 

Bellekens IT was founded in 2004 by Geert Bellekens and has a strong focus on UML, modelling and analysis methodology.

Geert Bellekens has helped several of the larger Belgian organizations to define and document their modelling method, train and coach the modelers and develop supporting tools.

Geert Bellekens is an acknowledged Enterprise Architect expert and has written numerous add-ins for Enterprise Architect, including the free open source EA Navigator and EA-Matic.

He is also one of the founding members and a regular speaker on the EA User Group events.

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Call for Speakers and/or Teachers

Brussels
October 5 & 6, 2017

Dear Enterprise Architect enthusiast.

Our next EA User Group event is planned on the 5th and 6th October 2017 in Brussels.
Similar to the event in London in May we will organize a two-day event.

The first day, 5 October will be the training day. This day will be filled with 1/2 day hands-on training sessions to allow us to go into detail on a variety of subjects.

The second day, 6 October will be a classical EAUG day filled with 45-minute sessions covering all kinds of EA related topics.

We are interested in just about everything you do with Enterprise Architect, from the organisation of your model to enhancements you have made using MDG or the automation API, or even just a project with which you are especially happy with. That said, we are not just after the sunshine stories and would be interested in hearing about any experiences learned the hard way. Presentations of an obvious or purely commercial nature will not be accepted.

Some example topics are:

  • Enterprise Architecture (TOGAF, DoDAF/UPDM)
  • Business Architecture, Capability Mapping, Process Modelling
  • Systems Engineering
  • Business Analysis, Requirements Management
  • Modelling Languages (UML, SysML, BPMN, ArchiMate)
  • SOA, DDS, GIS, NIEM
  • Data modelling
  • Code generation/IDE integration
  • Project management
  • EA-based reporting
  • EA scripting and automation
  • Simulation
  • Tool adoption/deployment
  • MDG Technologies/UML profiles
  • Model collaboration and management
  • Test management

Do you have a story to tell or a course to teach?

If so, please let us know.

Closing date for Speaker submissions for the
Enterprise Architect Brussels Conference 2017 is
September 15, 2017

You will be confirmed as a speaker no later than September 22, 2017.
Thank you for taking time to share with us!

The Bellekens EA toolpack, the free set of add-ins for Enterprise Architect has expanded with a new add-in: the EA TFS Connector.EATFSConnectorLogo

This new add-in for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect synchronizes workitems 2-ways between EA and TFS (Microsoft Team Foundation Server), so both from TFS to EA as from EA to TFS.

The EA TFS Connector uses the REST API web-service of TFS to synchronize items, so no local TFS (Visual Studio) installation is required, and it also works with TFS version 2015, which isn’t the case with the standard Visual Studio MDG integration.

      Special thanks goes to 
RealDolmen 
      for sponsoring the development of this add-in.

Have you tried the add-in and feel like it’s missing something? Don’t hesitate to contact me. There are always possibilities to enhance the add-in and make it better for the whole community.

For more information see EA TFS Connector.

Wednesday, 19 October 2016 04:08

New! Support Contracts with Bellekens!

support-icon

Ever needed a helping hand, or needed an expert to fall back on if you have a difficult question or face a problem with Enterprise Architect?

Now you can. Bellekens now offers support contracts for those occasional interventions.

We offer both Monthly as Yearly subscriptions depending on your needs.

Montly

You will receive a monthly invoice with all the details of the treated support tickets.

Base Base hours base hourly rate base amount extra 15 minutes **
No base* 0 € 45
1 h base 1 € 150 € 150 € 45
2 h base 2 € 140 € 280 € 45
5 h base 5 € 130 € 650 € 45
10 h base 10 € 120 € 1.200 € 45

* If you choose for the option with No base the minimum charge is 1 hour. Extra work will be charged per extra 15 minutes. So your monthly invoice can either be €0, or it will be at least € 180
The other options have a base price that will be charged every month, regardless of there was an actual support request that month or not

Yearly

You pay out front for a full year in support. In the event that the chosen plan doesn’t really fit your needs anymore we are quite flexible in changing your plan at any time.

Base Base hours price per hour base amount extra 15 minutes **
12 h base € 12 € 140 € 1.680 € 35
24 h base € 24 € 130 € 3.120 € 45
60 h base € 60 € 120 € 7.200 € 45
120 h base € 120 € 110 € 13.200 € 45

**Outside of the base hours foreseen in the support contract

For more information and singing up to the service please visit the Support page

Friday, 26 August 2016 09:47

EA Mapping tool => Who wants it?

I’m thinking about developing a mapping tool add-in for EA.
The idea is that you can manage a mapping between two types of (data) models. For example between your logical data model and your message model, or between your logical data model and your database model etc…

I already have a number of add-ins and scripts that somehow create traceability between models on element, attribute and association level, but I don’t have a tool yet to visualize and manage those traces.

To give you an idea the GUI of the thing could look similar to this:

mapping tool
Functions could include
– ability to add notes to each mapping
– ability to export the mapping to excel
– drag-n-drop to create mappings
– …
Now it seems to me like there could be many parties interested in such a tool.
I would like to develop this as a free and open source add-in (as I do for all my add-ins) but I’m still looking for sponsors.
My initial rough estimate for the development of such a tool is 15 man days.

I already have two parties that might be interested, but the more sponsors I can find the lower the price would get for each individual party.

So if you are interested in such a tool please let me know: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we might be able to work something out.

Github shapescript library

The new open source Enterprise Architect Shapescript Library in Github is an initiative to share shapescripts for Enterprise Architect within the user community.

Shapescripts in Enterprise Architect are used to define the presentation of elements on a diagram. They are mostly used when defining a UML profile in Enterprise Architect that extends UML or another modelling language with project specific elements and properties.

Shapescript examples

When developing UML profiles these shapescripts are stored in the _image attribute on the stereotype element, and they can be easily edited using the profile helper.

Shapescript editor

After a while however you’ll have a bunch of shapescripts scattered over different profiles, and projects, and it becomes hard to manage, or do any kind of version control. Finding a specific shapescript where you used a particular feature is next to impossible if you don’t remember exactly which stereotype this shapescript belonged to.

Exporting shapescripts

With the shapescript editor you can export each shapescript individually, but once you have more then a couple of shapescripts that quickly becomes a drag to save your shapescripts to files.

So I wrote a script called ExportAllShapeScripts that searches a repository for all stereotypes that have a shapescript, and exports all of these shapescripts in one go.

This script is part of the Enterprise-Architect-VBScript-Library. Read the article How to use the Enterprise Architect VBScript Library for instructions on downloading and using the Library in Enterprise Architect.

Running this script will save each shapescript as a textfile with extension .shapeScript, grouped in packages per profile.

Shapescripts saved

The code explained

The export script first uses an SQL query to find all shapescripts. Technically the shapescripts are stored in the default property of the attribute with the name _image. The script is stored as an xml tag Image in a zipped and base64 encoded format. A typical shapescript might look like this in the database:

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<Image type="EAShapeScript 1.0" xmlns:dt="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:datatypes" dt:dt="bin.base64">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</Image>

So the SQL selects all attributes owned by a element with stereotype «stereotype» with the name _imagethat have the tag <Image>  in their Default field.

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'get all attributes with name _image that have shapescript in the default field and a parent with stereotype «stereotype»
dim sqlGetShapescriptAttributes
sqlGetShapescriptAttributes = "select a.ID from (t_attribute a " & _
                              " inner join t_object o on (o.Object_ID = a.Object_ID " & _
                              "                     and o.Stereotype = 'stereotype')) " & _
                              " where a.Name = '_image' " & _
                              " and a.[Default] like '<Image type=""EAShapeScript" & getWC & "'"
dim shapeScriptAttributes
set shapeScriptAttributes = getAttributesByQuery(sqlGetShapescriptAttributes)

Then we loop the schapescript attributes, decode the shapescript and save it as an individual text file.

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'loop the shape script attributes
for each shapeScriptAttribute in shapeScriptAttributes
    'get the stereotype
    dim stereotype as EA.Element
    set stereotype = Repository.GetElementByID(shapeScriptAttribute.ParentID)
    dim profile as EA.Package
    set profile = findProfilePackage(stereotype)
    'load the resultset in the xml document
    dim shapeScript
    shapeScript = decodeBase64zippedXML(shapeScriptAttribute.Default,"Image")
    if len(shapeScript) > 0 then
        dim scriptFile
        set scriptFile = New TextFile
        scriptfile.Contents = shapeScript
        'save the script
        scriptFile.FullPath = selectedFolder.FullPath & "\" & profile.Name & "\" & stereotype.Name & ".shapeScript"
        scriptFile.Save
        'debug info
        Session.Output "saving script: " & scriptFile.FullPath
    end if
next

The real difficulty in this script was to decode the shapescript, which is hidden in the method decodeBase64zippedXML  defined in the XML utility script. It first base64 decodes the contents of the tag, then saves it as a zip file, unzips the zip file, gets the text file in the zip file, and returns the contents of the text file. Then it deletes the temporary zip file and folder it was extracted to.

 Contributing

If you have shapescripts of your own that you wish to share you can send a github pull request, or an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Any bright ideas on how to document each of the shapescripts with an image of shape are welcome too.

This article was originally published at bellekens.com

The Enterprise Architect VBScript Library is an open source library of VBScripts written to be used in Enterprise Architect.

This article explains how to download, import and use the library in Enterprise Architect.

Initial Import

Initial scripts

The Enterprise Architect VBScript Library contains some scripts to load and save scripts from/to your file system, but before we can use those we have to import an initial set of scripts to get started.

After downloading the file select menu option Project|Data Management|Import Reference Data and choose the downloaded file. Make sure to select Automation scriptsand click Import.

This will import the minimum set of scripts required to load other scripts from the file system

 

 

VBScript library initial script set
VBScript library initial script set
€0.00
Download
 

Download library from GitHub

From the Enterprise Architect VBScript Library project page on GitHub you can either choose to download the library as a zip file, or download the repository in GitHub desktop.

VBScript library github

Load library into Enterprise Architect

Select scripts folderOne of the scripts in the initial set is the scriptLoadScripts in the group Script Management. If you execute this script you can choose the library folder from the library downloaded from GitHub.

The script will then scan the entire folder tree and it will load any .vbs file it can find.

For starters it might be interesting to only load the Frameworks scripts as they have the most chance of being useful to anyone.

If the LoadScripts script finds a script that already exists in Enterprise Architect it will ask to overwrite the existing scripts.

In order to know in which group the script belongs it will look for a the group indicator in the script.

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'[group=Script Management]

This will tell the script that this script should go in the group Script Management. If the script indicator is absent it will assume the group name is the name of the folder where it was found.

After loading the scripts into EA make sure to press the refresh button to make the scripts appear in the GUI.

Refresh script tree

Saving all your scripts

In the script management group there also a script to save all your scripts to the file system.

In order to control where the script should go you can add the path indicator to the script like this

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'[path=\Framework\Tools\Script Management]

The path indicator will control where to place the script relative to the chosen folder.

If the path indicator is absent the name of the script group will be used as name of the folder.

Being able to save and load the scripts from/to the file system now allows us to use version control on these scripts.

The library structure

The library is structured in two main parts.

  • Projects
    Contains an assortment of various scripts written for various projects.
  • Framework
    Contains the framework scripts that are meant to be used by other scripts
    • Utils
      Contains helper scripts and classes such as TextFile, SQL, XML etc..
    • Wrappers
      Contains the wrapper classes for EA elements such as TaggedValue, Script, ScriptGroup

The scripts in the projects folder can be used for inspiration, but it is mainly the scripts in the Framework part that are useful when writing scripts.

Using the library

The first thing you need to do when you want to use any of the framework classes is to include the framework in your script

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!INC Wrappers.Include

This will include the “Include” script that takes care of including all the other scripts of the framework, including those of the Utils folder.

Then you can use the classes defined in the library. For eaxample, if you want to have the user select a directory you can use following code

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'get the folder from the user
dim folder
set folder = new FileSystemFolder
set folder = folder.getUserSelectedFolder("")

The classes in the library contain both properties as operations. You can use the properties as you would expect from “real” classes.

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'show messagebox with the name of each subfolder
dim subfolders, subfolder
for each subfolder in folder.SubFolders
    msgbox "subfolder name: " & subfolder.Name
next

Contributing

Have you written any VBScripts for Enterprise Architect you would like to share? If you would like to contribute to the Enterprise Architect VBScript library you can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This script will search the text in the comments, scenario’s and linked document of the selected elements for terms in the domain model. If it finds a match it will create a trace from your selected element to the element in the domain model.

The idea is that when we write descriptions and scenario’s we often use terms already defined in the domain model, so it would be good if we had a real trace from the element in the domain model and the element using it in its description.

Link to domain model example

But it is hard to keep the descriptions and scenario’s in sync with the traces to the domain model. This script does the hard part for us and keeps those traces in sync. All you need to do is type your description and run the script. The script will find the referenced elements in the domain model and create a trace link to it. It will also remove any automatic traces that are not valid anymore.

Next to the NameNotes, and the Linked Document, this script will also search the scenarios, both theScenario Description, as the structured Scenario Steps. In case of a Scenario Step the script will insert to the name of the domain model element in the Uses column.Link to domain model scenario

Note that the script is case sensitive. That is the reason why RoomType does not appear in the uses column. Enterprise Architect itself isn’t that picky, and it underlines Roomtype anyway because it finds a relationship to RoomType.

In order to execute the script you have to select either one or more elements in the project browser, or select a package in the project browser.

Link to domain model menu option

Then select Script|Link To Domain Model

Free download

Trace to Domain Model script
Trace to Domain Model script
€0.00
Download

The script

In the first part we ask the user to select the domain model package.
If you want to use this script on a particular model you may want to replace that by a hard coding the Domain models GUID into the script.
Since this script may run for a while on a large model, we also create an output tab so we can inform the user of our progress.

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sub main
    'let the user select the domain model package
    dim response
    response = Msgbox ("Please select the domain model package", vbOKCancel+vbQuestion, "Selecte domain model")
    if response = vbOK then
         
        dim domainModelPackage as EA.Package
        set domainModelPackage = selectPackage()
        if not domainModelPackage is nothing then
            Repository.CreateOutputTab "Link to Domain Model"
            Repository.ClearOutput "Link to Domain Model"
            Repository.EnsureOutputVisible "Link to Domain Model"
            'link selected elements to the domain model elements
            linkSelectionToDomainModel(domainModelPackage)
            'tell the user we are done
            Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Finished!", 0
        end if
    end if
end sub

Next we create a dictionary of all classes in domain model package and all of the sub-packages recursively.

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'first get the pattern from all the classes in the domain model
dim dictionary
Set dictionary = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
 
'create domain model dictionary
'tell the user what we are doing
Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Creating domain model dictionary", 0
addToClassDictionary domainModelPackage.PackageGUID, dictionary

Based on this dictionary we can create one large Regular Expression that will tell us which of the terms in the dictionary are used in a certain text.

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' and prepare the regex object
dim pattern
'create the pattern based on the names in the dictionary
pattern = createRegexPattern(dictionary)
Dim regExp 
Set regExp = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
regExp.Global = True  
regExp.IgnoreCase = False
regExp.Pattern = pattern

Then we check what is selected in the project browser. If the user has selected one or more elements we start process those elements. If a package is selected then we process the elements in the selected package.

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' Get the type of element selected in the Project Browser
dim treeSelectedType
treeSelectedType = Repository.GetTreeSelectedItemType()
' Either process the selected Element, or process all elements in the selected package
select case treeSelectedType
    case otElement
        ' Code for when an element is selected
        dim selectedElements as EA.Collection
        set selectedElements = Repository.GetTreeSelectedElements()
        'link the selected elements with the
        linkDomainClassesWithElements dictionary,regExp,selectedElements
    case otPackage
        ' Code for when a package is selected
        dim selectedPackage as EA.Package
        set selectedpackage = Repository.GetTreeSelectedObject()
        'link use domain classes with the elements in the selected package
        linkDomainClassesWithElementsInPackage dictionary, regExp,selectedPackage
    case else
        ' Error message
        Session.Prompt "You have to select Elements or a Package", promptOK
end select

Here’s the complete code for the script.

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option explicit
 
!INC Local Scripts.EAConstants-VBScript
 
'
' Script Name: Link to Domain Model
' Author: Geert Bellekens
' Purpose: Link elements with classes in the domain model based on their name.
' Date: 15/11/2015
'
 
 
sub main
    'let the user select the domain model package
    dim response
    response = Msgbox ("Please select the domain model package", vbOKCancel+vbQuestion, "Selecte domain model")
    if response = vbOK then
         
        dim domainModelPackage as EA.Package
        set domainModelPackage = selectPackage()
        if not domainModelPackage is nothing then
            Repository.CreateOutputTab "Link to Domain Model"
            Repository.ClearOutput "Link to Domain Model"
            Repository.EnsureOutputVisible "Link to Domain Model"
            'link selected elements to the domain model elements
            linkSelectionToDomainModel(domainModelPackage)
            'tell the user we are done
            Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Finished!", 0
        end if
    end if
end sub
 
'this is the actual call to the main function
main
 
function linkSelectionToDomainModel(domainModelPackage)
    'first get the pattern from all the classes in the domain model
    dim dictionary
    Set dictionary = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
     
    'create domain model dictionary
    'tell the user what we are doing
    Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Creating domain model dictionary", 0
    addToClassDictionary domainModelPackage.PackageGUID, dictionary
     
    'tell the user what we are doing
    Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Interpreting dictionary", 0
    ' and prepare the regex object
    dim pattern
    'create the pattern based on the names in the dictionary
    pattern = createRegexPattern(dictionary)
    Dim regExp 
    Set regExp = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
    regExp.Global = True  
    regExp.IgnoreCase = False
    regExp.Pattern = pattern
     
    ' Get the type of element selected in the Project Browser
    dim treeSelectedType
    treeSelectedType = Repository.GetTreeSelectedItemType()
    ' Either process the selected Element, or process all elements in the selected package
    select case treeSelectedType
        case otElement
            ' Code for when an element is selected
            dim selectedElements as EA.Collection
            set selectedElements = Repository.GetTreeSelectedElements()
            'link the selected elements with the
            linkDomainClassesWithElements dictionary,regExp,selectedElements
        case otPackage
            ' Code for when a package is selected
            dim selectedPackage as EA.Package
            set selectedpackage = Repository.GetTreeSelectedObject()
            'link use domain classes with the elements in the selected package
            linkDomainClassesWithElementsInPackage dictionary, regExp,selectedPackage
        case else
            ' Error message
            Session.Prompt "You have to select Elements or a Package", promptOK
    end select
end function
 
'this function will get all elements in the given package and subpackages recursively and link them to the domain classes
function linkDomainClassesWithElementsInPackage(dictionary,regExp,selectedPackage)
    dim packageList
    set packageList = getPackageTree(selectedPackage)
    dim packageIDString
    packageIDString = makePackageIDString(packageList)
    dim getElementsSQL
    getElementsSQL = "select o.Object_ID from t_object o where o.Package_ID in (" &amp; packageIDString &amp; ")"
    dim usecases
    set usecases = getElementsFromQuery(getElementsSQL)
    linkDomainClassesWithElements dictionary,regExp,usecases
end function
 
 
function linkDomainClassesWithElements(dictionary,regExp,elements)
    dim element as EA.Element
    'loop de elements
    for each element in elements
        'tell the user what we are doing
        Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Linking element: " &amp; element.Name, 0
        'first remove all automatic traces
        removeAllAutomaticTraces element
        'match based on notes and linked document
        dim elementText
        'get full text (name +notes + linked document + scenario names + scenario notes)
        elementText = element.Name
        elementText = elementText &amp; vbNewLine &amp; Repository.GetFormatFromField("TXT",element.Notes)
        elementText = elementText &amp; vbNewLine &amp; getLinkedDocumentContent(element, "TXT")
        elementText = elementText &amp; vbNewLine &amp; getTextFromScenarios(element)
        dim matches
        set matches = regExp.Execute(elementText)
        'for each match create a «trace» link with the element
        linkMatchesWithelement matches, element, dictionary
        'link based on text in scenariosteps
        dim scenario as EA.Scenario
        'get all dependencies left
        dim dependencies
        set dependencies = getDependencies(element)
        'loop scenarios
        for each scenario in element.Scenarios
            dim scenarioStep as EA.ScenarioStep
            for each scenarioStep in scenario.Steps
                'first remove any additional terms in the uses field
                scenarioStep.Uses = removeAddionalUses(dependencies, scenarioStep.Uses)
                set matches = regExp.Execute(scenarioStep.Name)
                dim classesToMatch
                set classesToMatch = getClassesToMatchDictionary(matches, dictionary)
                dim classToMatch as EA.Element
                for each classToMatch in classesToMatch.Items
                    if not instr(scenarioStep.Uses,classToMatch.Name) &gt; 0 then
                        scenarioStep.Uses = scenarioStep.Uses &amp; " " &amp; classToMatch.Name
                    end if
                    'create the dependency between the use case and the domain model class
                    linkElementsWithAutomaticTrace element, classToMatch
                next
                'save scenario step
                scenarioStep.Update
                scenario.Update
            next
        next
    next
end function
 
function linkMatchesWithelement(matches, element, dictionary)
    dim classesToMatch
    'get the classes to match
    Set classesToMatch = getClassesToMatchDictionary(matches,dictionary)
    dim classToMatch as EA.Element
    'actually link the classes
    for each classToMatch in classesToMatch.Items
        linkElementsWithAutomaticTrace element, classToMatch
    next
end function
 
 
'get the text from the scenarios name and notes
function getTextFromScenarios(element)
    dim scenario as EA.Scenario
    dim scenarioText
    scenarioText = ""
    for each scenario in element.Scenarios
        scenarioText = scenarioText &amp; vbNewLine &amp; scenario.Name
        scenarioText = scenarioText &amp; vbNewLine &amp; Repository.GetFormatFromField("TXT",scenario.Notes)
    next
    getTextFromScenarios = scenarioText
end function
 
function removeAddionalUses(dependencies, uses)
    dim dependency
    dim filteredUses
    filteredUses = ""
    if len(uses) &gt; 0 then
        for each dependency in dependencies.Keys
            if Instr(uses,dependency) &gt; 0 then
                if len(filteredUses) &gt; 0 then
                    filteredUses = filteredUses &amp; " " &amp; dependency
                else
                    filteredUses = dependency
                end if
            end if
        next
    end if
    removeAddionalUses = filteredUses
end function
 
'returns a dictionary of elements with the name as key and the element as value.
function getDependencies(element)
    dim getDependencySQL
    getDependencySQL =  "select dep.Object_ID from ( t_object dep " &amp; _
                        " inner join t_connector con on con.End_Object_ID = dep.Object_ID)   " &amp; _
                        " where con.Connector_Type = 'Dependency'  " &amp; _
                        " and con.Start_Object_ID = " &amp; element.ElementID  
    set getDependencies = getElementDictionaryFromQuery(getDependencySQL)
end function
 
function removeAllAutomaticTraces(element)
        dim i
        dim connector as EA.Connector
        'remove all the traces to domain model classes
        for i = element.Connectors.Count -1 to 0 step -1
            set connector = element.Connectors.GetAt(i)
            if connector.Alias = "automatic" and connector.Stereotype = "trace" then
                element.Connectors.DeleteAt i,false
            end if
        next
end function
 
function getClassesToMatchDictionary(matches, allClassesDictionary)
    dim match
    dim classesToMatch
    dim className
    Set classesToMatch = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
    'create list of elements to link
    For each match in matches
        if not allClassesDictionary.Exists(match.Value) then
            'strip the last 's'
            className = left(match.Value, len(match.Value) -1)
        else
            className = match.Value
        end if
        if not classesToMatch.Exists(className) then
            classesToMatch.Add className, allClassesDictionary(className)
        end if
    next
    set getClassesToMatchDictionary = classesToMatch
end function
 
'Create a «trace» relation between source and target with "automatic" as alias
function linkElementsWithAutomaticTrace(sourceElement, targetElement)
    dim linkExists
    linkExists = false
    'first make sure there isn't already a trace relation between the two
    dim existingConnector as EA.Connector
    'make sure we are using the up-to-date connectors collection
    sourceElement.Connectors.Refresh
    for each existingConnector in sourceElement.Connectors
        if existingConnector.SupplierID = targetElement.ElementID _
           and existingConnector.Stereotype = "trace" then
           linkExists = true
           exit for
        end if
    next
    if not linkExists then
        'tell the user what we are doing
        Repository.WriteOutput "Link to Domain Model", "Adding trace between " &amp;sourceElement.Name &amp; " and " &amp; targetElement.Name, 0
        dim trace as EA.Connector
        set trace = sourceElement.Connectors.AddNew("","trace")
        trace.Alias = "automatic"
        trace.SupplierID = targetElement.ElementID
        trace.Update
    end if
end function
 
function addToClassDictionary(PackageGUID, dictionary)
    dim package as EA.Package
    set package = Repository.GetPackageByGuid(PackageGUID)
     
    'get the classes in the dictionary (recursively
    addClassesToDictionary package, dictionary
end function
 
function addClassesToDictionary(package, dictionary)
    dim classElement as EA.Element
    dim subpackage as EA.Package
    'process owned elements
    for each classElement in package.Elements
        if classElement.Type = "Class" AND len(classElement.Name) &gt; 0 AND not dictionary.Exists(classElement.Name) then
            dictionary.Add classElement.Name,  classElement
        end if
    next
    'process subpackages
    for each subpackage in package.Packages
        addClassesToDictionary subpackage, dictionary
    next
end function
 
 
'Create a reges pattern like this "\b(name1|name2|name3)\b" based on the
function createRegexPattern(dictionary)
    Dim patternString
    dim className
    'add begin
    patternString = "\b("
    dim addPipe
    addPipe = FALSE
    for each className in dictionary.Keys
            if addPipe then
                patternString = patternString &amp; "|"
            else
                addPipe = True
            end if
            patternString = patternString &amp; className
    next
    'add end
    patternString = patternString &amp; ")s?\b"
    'return pattern
    createRegexPattern = patternString
end function
 
'returns an ArrayList of the given package and all its subpackages recursively
function getPackageTree(package)
    dim packageList
    set packageList = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    addPackagesToList package, packageList
    set getPackageTree = packageList
end function
 
'make an id string out of the package ID of the given packages
function makePackageIDString(packages)
    dim package as EA.Package
    dim idString
    idString = ""
    dim addComma
    addComma = false
    for each package in packages
        if addComma then
            idString = idString &amp; ","
        else
            addComma = true
        end if
        idString = idString &amp; package.PackageID
    next
    'if there are no packages then we return "0"
    if packages.Count = 0 then
        idString = "0"
    end if
    'return idString
    makePackageIDString = idString
end function
 
'returns an ArrayList with the elements accordin tot he ObjectID's in the given query
function getElementsFromQuery(sqlQuery)
    dim elements
    set elements = Repository.GetElementSet(sqlQuery,2)
    dim result
    set result = CreateObject("System.Collections.ArrayList")
    dim element
    for each element in elements
        result.Add Element
    next
    set getElementsFromQuery = result
end function
 
'returns a dictionary of all elements in the query with their name as key, and the element as value.
'for elements with the same name only one will be returned
function getElementDictionaryFromQuery(sqlQuery)
    dim elements
    set elements = Repository.GetElementSet(sqlQuery,2)
    dim result
    set result = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")
    dim element
    for each element in elements
        if not result.Exists(element.Name) then
        result.Add element.Name, element
        end if
    next
    set getElementDictionaryFromQuery = result
end function
 
'gets the content of the linked document in the given format (TXT, RTF or EA)
function getLinkedDocumentContent(element, format)
    dim linkedDocumentRTF
    dim linkedDocumentEA
    dim linkedDocumentPlainText
    linkedDocumentRTF = element.GetLinkedDocument()
    if format = "RTF" then
        getLinkedDocumentContent = linkedDocumentRTF
    else
        linkedDocumentEA = Repository.GetFieldFromFormat("RTF",linkedDocumentRTF)
        if format = "EA" then
            getLinkedDocumentContent = linkedDocumentEA
        else
            linkedDocumentPlainText = Repository.GetFormatFromField("TXT",linkedDocumentEA)
            getLinkedDocumentContent = linkedDocumentPlainText
        end if
    end if
end function
 
'let the user select a package
function selectPackage()
    dim documentPackageElementID       
    documentPackageElementID = Repository.InvokeConstructPicker("IncludedTypes=Package")
    if documentPackageElementID &gt; 0 then
        dim packageElement as EA.Element
        set packageElement = Repository.GetElementByID(documentPackageElementID)
        dim package as EA.Package
        set package = Repository.GetPackageByGuid(packageElement.ElementGUID)
    else
        set package = nothing
    end if
    set selectPackage = package
end function
 
'add the given package and all subPackges to the list (recursively
function addPackagesToList(package, packageList)
    dim subPackage as EA.Package
    'add the package itself
    packageList.Add package
    'add subpackages
    for each subPackage in package.Packages
        addPackagesToList subPackage, packageList
    next
end function

This article was originally published on Bellekens.com

With this script you can change set all the lines styles on a diagram at once, to your preferred style per type of connector.

In Enterprise Architect you can choose from no less then 9 different line styles for the connectors.

Line Styles

Unfortunately you can only choose from the first three to be the default line style for new connectors. Additionally you can also specify the default for Generalization to be Tree Style, but that is it.

For me that is not enough. I have my own habits when making UML diagrams. For most connector types I use Orthogonal – Square, but not for dependencies, use case relations and note links. For those I like theDirect style. The last exception are the control flow, state flow and object flows, for which I use Orthogonal – Rounded.

LineStylesDiagram

With this script I can set all the line styles on a diagram to the styles that I like.  All I need to do is right click on a diagram and choose Scripts|Set Line Styles

Set Linestyles menu option

And the script will set all the line styles to the defaults set in the script. If you would like the line styles to be set to your preferences automatically without having to run the script you can use EA-Matic version of this script.

You can set your own preferences in this section of the script

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'*********EDIT BETWEEN HERE*************
 
' set here the default style to be used
defaultStyle = lsOrthogonalSquareTree
 
' set there the style to be used for each type of connector
function determineStyle(connector)
    dim connectorType
    connectorType = connector.Type
    select case connectorType
        case "ControlFlow", "StateFlow","ObjectFlow","InformationFlow"
            determineStyle = lsOrthogonalRoundedTree
        case "Generalization", "Realization", "Realisation"
            determineStyle = lsTreeVerticalTree
        case "UseCase", "Dependency","NoteLink"
            determineStyle = lsDirectMode
        case else
            determineStyle = defaultStyle
    end select
end function
'************AND HERE****************

Free download

Default Line Styles Script
Default Line Styles Script
€0.00
Download 

Video

This script has been previously featured in the webinar Introduction to Scripting with Enterprise Architect presented by yours truly.

The script

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option explicit
 
!INC Local Scripts.EAConstants-VBScript
 
' Script Name: DefaultLineStyles
' Author: Geert Bellekens
' Purpose: Allows to change the linestyles to their default
' Date: 27/04/2015
'
dim lsDirectMode, lsAutoRouteMode, lsCustomMode, lsTreeVerticalTree, lsTreeHorizontalTree, _
lsLateralHorizontalTree, lsLateralVerticalTree, lsOrthogonalSquareTree, lsOrthogonalRoundedTree
 
lsDirectMode = "1"
lsAutoRouteMode = "2"
lsCustomMode = "3"
lsTreeVerticalTree = "V"
lsTreeHorizontalTree = "H"
lsLateralHorizontalTree = "LH"
lsLateralVerticalTree = "LC"
lsOrthogonalSquareTree = "OS"
lsOrthogonalRoundedTree = "OR"
 
dim defaultStyle
dim menuDefaultLines
 
 
'*********EDIT BETWEEN HERE*************
 
 
' set here the default style to be used
defaultStyle = lsOrthogonalSquareTree
 
' set there the style to be used for each type of connector
function determineStyle(connector)
    dim connectorType
    connectorType = connector.Type
    select case connectorType
        case "StateFlow","ObjectFlow","InformationFlow"
            determineStyle = lsOrthogonalRoundedTree
        case "Generalization", "Realization", "Realisation"
            determineStyle = lsTreeVerticalTree
        case "UseCase", "Dependency","NoteLink"
            determineStyle = lsDirectMode
        case else
            determineStyle = defaultStyle
    end select
end function
'************AND HERE****************
 
 
sub main
        dim diagram
        dim diagramLink
        dim connector
        dim dirty
        dirty = false
        set diagram = Repository.GetCurrentDiagram
        'save the diagram first
        Repository.SaveDiagram diagram.DiagramID
        'then loop all diagramLinks
        if not diagram is nothing then
            for each diagramLink in diagram.DiagramLinks
                set connector = Repository.GetConnectorByID(diagramLink.ConnectorID)
                if not connector is nothing then
                    'set the connectorstyle
                    setConnectorStyle diagramLink, determineStyle(connector)
                    'save the diagramlink
                    diagramLink.Update
                    dirty = true
                end if
            next
            'reload the diagram if we changed something
            if dirty then
                'reload the diagram to show the link style
                Repository.ReloadDiagram diagram.DiagramID
            end if
        end if
end sub
 
main
 
 
'gets the diagram link object
function getdiagramLinkForConnector(connector, diagram)
    dim diagramLink
    set getdiagramLinkForConnector = nothing
    for each diagramLink in diagram.DiagramLinks
        if diagramLink.ConnectorID = connector.ConnectorID then
            set getdiagramLinkForConnector = diagramLink
            exit for
        end if
    next
end function
 
'actually sets the connector style
function setConnectorStyle(diagramLink, connectorStyle)
    'split the style into its parts
    dim styleparts
    dim styleString
    styleString = diagramLink.Style
    styleparts = Split(styleString,";")
    dim stylePart
    dim mode
    dim modeIndex
    modeIndex = -1
    dim tree
    dim treeIndex
    treeIndex = -1
    mode = ""
    tree = ""
    dim i
    'find if Mode and Tree are already defined
    for i = 0 to Ubound(styleparts) -1
        stylePart = styleparts(i)
        if Instr(stylepart,"Mode=") > 0 then
            modeIndex = i
        elseif Instr(stylepart,"TREE=") > 0 then
            treeIndex = i
        end if
    next
    'these connectorstyles use mode=3 and the tree
    if  connectorStyle = lsTreeVerticalTree or _
        connectorStyle = lsTreeHorizontalTree or _
        connectorStyle = lsLateralHorizontalTree or _
        connectorStyle = lsLateralVerticalTree or _
        connectorStyle = lsOrthogonalSquareTree or _
        connectorStyle = lsOrthogonalRoundedTree then
        mode = "3"
        tree = connectorStyle
    else
        mode = connectorStyle
    end if
    'set the mode value
    if modeIndex >= 0 then
        styleparts(modeIndex) = "Mode=" & mode
        diagramLink.Style = join(styleparts,";")
    else
        diagramLink.Style = "Mode=" & mode& ";"& diagramLink.Style
    end if
    'set the tree value
    if treeIndex >= 0 then
        if len(tree) > 0 then
            styleparts(treeIndex) = "TREE=" & tree
            diagramLink.Style = join(styleparts,";")
        else
            'remove tree part
            diagramLink.Style = replace(diagramLink.Style,styleparts(treeIndex)&";" , "")
        end if
    else
        diagramLink.Style = diagramLink.Style & "TREE=" & tree & ";"
    end if
end function
 
function getConnectorStyle(diagramLink)
    'split the style
    dim styleparts
    styleparts = Split(diagramLink.Style,";")
    dim stylePart
    dim mode
    dim tree
    mode = ""
    tree = ""
    for each stylepart in styleparts
        if Instr(stylepart,"Mode=") > 0 then
            mode = right(stylepart, 1)
        elseif Instr(stylepart,"TREE=") > 0 then
            tree = replace(stylepart, "TREE=", "")
        end if
    next
    if tree <> "" then
        getConnectorStyle = tree
    else
        getConnectorStyle = mode
    end if
end function

This article was originally published on Bellekens.com

Bellekens DocGen example
  • Step 1: Create the virtual document with a script
  • Step 2: Generate the document from the virtual document

Document generation is important in most organisations that work with Enterprise Architect. Storing information in the model is good, but most stakeholders still require documents.

Documents are using as a tool for validation, as a work order, or just to give you an overview of a specific set of thing in the model. The main advantages of a document versus a model is that it has a limited scope and a linear order. You can read a document from start to finish, whereas you cannot do that with a model. Documents are, and will always be an important tool in developing applications.

Enterprise Architect comes with a sophisticated document generator that has seen great improvements in the last versions (v10, v11, v12). You also get a standard set of document templates that will quickly generate a document for a part of your model.

The problems arise however the moment you try to do something a bit more sophisticated with the document templates. Get information from different packages, use different templates for the same (set of) elements, etc… You will quickly realize that the approach of having one large template that generates the whole document is not useful for real-world document requirements.

Luckily EA has an alternative to the single template approach: Virtual Documents

Free Download

I’ve put together an example model and an MDG to demonstrate this approach. The MDG contains all scripts, templates and SQL Searches to generate a decent Use Case Document.

Bellekens DocGen MDG and example model
Bellekens DocGen MDG and example model
€0.00
 
 
 

 After you open the Hotellio.eap file, right click on the Reservations use case diagram and choose Create Use Case Document

Create Use Case Document

Then select the package to store the virtual document in and fill in the version.

Finally select the «master document» package and press F8 so start the document generation. Make sure to select the correct cover page and style sheet

Generate Document

Virtual Documents

Virtual Documents are used to define the contents of a document as a set of individual sections, each with its own source and template.

Virtual Documents structure

There are two types of elements that are used for virtual documents

  • Master Document
    Represents the document to be printed. You can give it some parameters that can be used in the document itself such as title, Version, Status, etc…
  • Model Document
    Represents a section in your document. The model document gets an RTFTemplate, and you have to define a source for this section. The source tell us which element(s) from the model should be used in this section. There are two ways to define the source. You can either drag one or more packages onto it, or you can fill in the Model Search and Search Term.

Master Documents get stored in the model as stereotyped packages and they contain stereotypes classes to represent the Model Documents

Virtual Document example

In the project browser this looks like thisVirtual Document project browser.

The Master Documents get the stereotype «master document» They contain tagged values to store things like ReportAlias, ReportTitle. Event though you can assign an RTF template to the master document this seems to be pointless since it gets ignored when printing a document.

Model Documents get the stereotype «model document». The links to the packages that serve as the source for a model document are created by dragging the package from the project browser onto the model document. This creates an attribute that maintains the link to the package.
Tagged values are used to indicate the template to use, the model search to use, and the search value to use on that search.

This mechanism of model documents allows you to very precisely control what will be printed in the document.

Templates

RTF templates are stored in the Resources section of your model. In order to see and manage them enable the resources view using View|Resources

template sections

Templates for document that have a package as source can start from the package tag and access all element, diagram etc.. in that package.

If your source is an SQL search that returns elements your template content can be placed in the element section

SQL Search

The SQL search I use to select a single element based on its GUID this following:

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select c.ea_guid AS CLASSGUID,c.object_type AS CLASSTYPE,c.name AS Name, c.stereotype AS Stereotype,
package.name AS PackageName ,package_p1.name AS PackageLevel1,package_p2.name AS PackageLevel2,package_p3.name AS PackageLevel3
from ((((t_object c
inner join t_package  package on c.package_id = package.package_id)
left join t_package  package_p1 on package_p1.package_id = package.parent_id)
left join t_package  package_p2 on package_p2.package_id = package_p1.parent_id)
left join t_package  package_p3 on package_p3.package_id = package_p2.parent_id)
where
c.ea_guid like '<Search Term>'

Printing

When you select the Master Document you can open up the document generation dialog by pressing F8

Generate Document

Here you can set the cover page, table of contents, and the style sheet to use.

Side note: Invest in the style sheet. It will save you time and frustration afterwards. It is difficult, and awkward to set styles using the RTF editor, but if you do it once in the stylesheet you don’t have to to it over and over again in each template. Also make sure to create your own “normal” style and call it “my normal” or something like that. Use this instead of the regular “normal”. There seems to be some weird behavior associated by the “normal” style, so I learned it’s best not to use it at all.

Then press generate, and the document generator will create one big document containing

  • The cover page
  • The table of contents page
  • All model documents in the order they appear in the project browser.

If you are not happy with the content of the document, or the order of the model documents then you can change them in EA and re-print the document.

One of the advantages is that the content of the document is stored in EA. So after a revision of the model you can print exactly the same content again and compare it with the previous version.

 Automatically generate virtual documents

Using virtual documents like that is all nice and good, but it still requires quite a lot of work to assemble the virtual document itself. For a somewhat realistic document you easily end up with tens of model documents, all pointing to different element or packages, and different template.
And you have to repeat that process for all the different documents you want to generate.

Doing the same thing over and over again is exactly what computers are build for. Instead of having to assemble the virtual document manually we will write a little script to do it for us.

The first thing well need to do is to make the Master Document package. This VBScript function does that for us.

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function addMasterDocument(packageGUID, documentName,documentVersion,documentAlias)
    dim ownerPackage as EA.Package
    set ownerPackage = Repository.GetPackageByGuid(packageGUID)
    dim masterDocumentPackage as EA.Package
    set masterDocumentPackage = ownerPackage.Packages.AddNew(documentName, "package")
    masterDocumentPackage.Update
    masterDocumentPackage.Element.Stereotype = "master document"
    masterDocumentPackage.Alias = documentAlias
    masterDocumentPackage.Version = documentVersion
    masterDocumentPackage.Update
    'link to the master template
    dim templateTag as EA.TaggedValue
    for each templateTag in masterDocumentPackage.Element.TaggedValues
        if templateTag.Name = "RTFTemplate" then
            templateTag.Value = "(model document: master template)"
            templateTag.Notes = "Default: (model document: master template)"
            templateTag.Update
            exit for
        end if
    next
    'return
    set addMasterDocument= masterDocumentPackage
end function

Then we need to make the Model Documents.To make one with a Package as source we use this function

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function addModelDocumentForPackage(masterDocument,package,name, treepos, template)
    dim modelDocElement as EA.Element
    set modelDocElement = masterDocument.Elements.AddNew(name, "Class")
    'set the position
    modelDocElement.TreePos = treepos
    modelDocElement.StereotypeEx = "model document"
    modelDocElement.Update
    'add tagged values
    dim templateTag as EA.TaggedValue
    for each templateTag in modelDocElement.TaggedValues
        if templateTag.Name = "RTFTemplate" then
            templateTag.Value = template
            templateTag.Notes = "Default: Model Report"
            templateTag.Update
            exit for
        end if
    next
    'add attribute
    dim attribute as EA.Attribute
    set attribute = modelDocElement.Attributes.AddNew(package.Name, "Package")
    attribute.ClassifierID = package.Element.ElementID
    attribute.Update
end function

To make one with an SQL Search as source we use this function

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function addModelDocumentWithSearch(masterDocument, template,elementName, elementGUID, treepos, searchName)
    dim modelDocElement as EA.Element;
    set modelDocElement = masterDocument.Elements.AddNew(elementName, "Class")
    'set the position
    modelDocElement.TreePos = treepos
    modelDocElement.StereotypeEx = "model document"
    modelDocElement.Update
    dim templateTag as EA.TaggedValue
    if len(elementGUID) > 0 then
        for each templateTag in modelDocElement.TaggedValues
            if templateTag.Name = "RTFTemplate" then
                templateTag.Value = template
                templateTag.Notes = "Default: Model Report"
                templateTag.Update
            elseif templateTag.Name = "SearchName" then
                templateTag.Value = searchName
                templateTag.Update
            elseif templateTag.Name = "SearchValue" then
                templateTag.Value = elementGUID
                templateTag.Update
            end if
        next
    else
        'add tagged values
        for each templateTag in modelDocElement.TaggedValues
            if templateTag.Name = "RTFTemplate" then
                templateTag.Value = template
                templateTag.Notes = "Default: Model Report"
                templateTag.Update
                exit for
            end if
        next
        'no GUID provided. Set masterdocument package ID as dummy attribute to make the template work
        dim attribute as EA.Attribute
        set attribute = modelDocElement.Attributes.AddNew(masterDocument.Name, "Package")
        attribute.ClassifierID = masterDocument.Element.ElementID
        attribute.Update
    end if
end function

The the last script we is one to actually use these functions in order to create the virtual document. In the example provided I’ve split the script in two parts. One part that remains in the library, and one script that is put in the Diagram Group so we can call it from a diagram directly.

The script in the Diagram Group takes care of getting the user input

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option explicit
 
!INC Bellekens DocGen.UseCaseDocument
 
' Script Name: Create Use Case Document
' Author: Geert Bellekens
' Purpose: Create the virtual document for a Use Case Document based on the open diagram
'           Copy this script in a Diagram Group to call it from the diagram directly.
' Date: 11/11/2015
'
 
sub OnDiagramScript()
    dim documentsPackage as EA.Package
    'select the package to generate the virtual document in
    Msgbox "Please select the package to generate the virtual document in",vbOKOnly+vbQuestion,"Document Package"
    set documentsPackage = selectPackage()
    if not documentsPackage is nothing then
        ' Get a reference to the current diagram
        dim currentDiagram as EA.Diagram
        set currentDiagram = Repository.GetCurrentDiagram()
        if not currentDiagram is nothing then
            createUseCaseDocument currentDiagram, documentsPackage.PackageGUID
            Msgbox "Select the Master Document and press F8 to generate document",vbOKOnly+vbInformation,"Finished!"
        else
            Session.Prompt "This script requires a diagram to be visible", promptOK
        end if
    end if
end sub
 
OnDiagramScript

The script in the library will use the functions mentioned above to start building the virtual document

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!INC Local Scripts.EAConstants-VBScript
!INC Bellekens DocGen.DocGenHelpers
!INC Bellekens DocGen.Util
'
 
' Script Name: UseCaseDocuemnt
' Author: Geert Bellekens
' Purpose: Create the virtual document for a Use Case Document based on the given diagram
' Date: 11/11/2015
'
 
dim useCaseDocumentsPackageGUID
 
function createUseCaseDocument( diagram, documentsPackageGUID)
     
    useCaseDocumentsPackageGUID = documentsPackageGUID
    'first create a master document
    dim masterDocument as EA.Package
    set masterDocument = makeUseCaseMasterDocument(diagram)
    if not masterDocument is nothing then
        dim i
        i = 0
        'use case diagram part 1
        addModelDocumentForDiagram masterDocument,diagram, i, "UCD_Use Case Diagram"
        i = i + 1
        'add Actors
        dim diagramPackage as EA.Package
        set diagramPackage = Repository.GetPackageByID(diagram.PackageID)
        addModelDocumentForPackage masterDocument, diagramPackage, diagram.Name & " Actors", i, "UCD_Actors"
        i = i + 1
        ' We only want to report the use cases that are shown within the scope boundary on this diagram
        'get the boundary diagram object in the diagram
        dim boundaries
        set boundaries = getDiagramObjects(diagram,"Boundary")
        Session.Output boundaries.Count
        'get the use cases
        dim usecases       
        if boundaries.Count > 0 then
            set usecases = getElementsFromDiagramInBoundary(diagram, "UseCase",boundaries(0))
            Session.Output "boundary found"
        else
            set usecases = getElementsFromDiagram(diagram, "UseCase")
        end if
         
        'sort use cases alphabetically
        set usecases = sortElementsByName(usecases)
         
        'add the use cases
        i = addUseCases(masterDocument, usecases, i)
         
        Repository.RefreshModelView(masterDocument.PackageID)
        'select the created master document in the project browser
        Repository.ShowInProjectView(masterDocument)
    end if
end function
 
 
function makeUseCaseMasterDocument(currentDiagram)
    'we should ask the user for a version
    dim documentTitle
    dim documentVersion
    dim documentName
    dim diagramName
    set makeUseCaseMasterDocument = nothing
    diagramName = currentDiagram.Name
    'to make sure document version is filled in
    documentVersion = ""
    documentVersion = InputBox("Please enter the version of this document", "Document version", "x.y.z" )
    if documentVersion <> "" then
        'OK, we have a version, continue
        documentName = "UCD - " & diagramName & " v. " & documentVersion
        dim masterDocument as EA.Package
        set masterDocument = addMasterDocumentWithDetails(useCaseDocumentsPackageGUID, documentName,documentVersion,diagramName)
        set makeUseCaseMasterDocument = masterDocument
    end if
end function
 
'add the use cases to the document
function addUseCases(masterDocument, usecases, i)
    dim usecase as EA.Element
    for each usecase in usecases
        'use case part 1
        addModelDocument masterDocument, "UCD_Use Case details part1", "UC " & usecase.Name & " Part 1", usecase.ElementGUID, i
        i = i + 1
         
        'get the nested scenario diagram
        dim activity as EA.Element
        set activity = getActivityForUsecase(usecase)
         
        'add scenario diagram
        if not activity is nothing then
        addModelDocument masterDocument, "UCD_Use Case Scenarios Diagram", "UC " & usecase.Name & " Scenarios diagram", activity.ElementGUID, i
            i = i + 1
        end if
         
        'use case part 2
        addModelDocument masterDocument, "UCD_Use Case details part2","UC " &  usecase.Name & " Part 2", usecase.ElementGUID, i
        i = i + 1
         
    next
    'return the new i
    addUseCases = i
end function
 
function getActivityForUsecase(usecase)
    set getActivityForUsecase = getNestedDiagramOnwerForElement(usecase, "Activity")
end function
 
function getInteractionForUseCase(usecase)
    set getInteractionForUseCase = getNestedDiagramOnwerForElement(usecase, "Interaction")
end function
 
function getNestedDiagramOnwerForElement(element, elementType)
    dim diagramOnwer as EA.Element
    set diagramOnwer = nothing
    dim nestedElement as EA.Element
    for each nestedElement in element.Elements
        if nestedElement.Type = elementType and nestedElement.Diagrams.Count > 0 then
            set diagramOnwer = nestedElement
            exit for
        end if
    next
    set getNestedDiagramOnwerForElement = diagramOnwer
end function
 
 
'sort the elements in the given ArrayList of EA.Elements by their name
function sortElementsByName (elements)
    dim i
    dim goAgain
    goAgain = false
    dim thisElement as EA.Element
    dim nextElement as EA.Element
    for i = 0 to elements.Count -2 step 1
        set thisElement = elements(i)
        set nextElement = elements(i +1)
        if  elementIsAfter(thisElement, nextElement) then
            elements.RemoveAt(i +1)
            elements.Insert i, nextElement
            goAgain = true
        end if
    next
    'if we had to swap an element then we go over the list again
    if goAgain then
        set elements = sortElementsByName (elements)
    end if
    'return the sorted list
    set sortElementsByName = elements
end function
 
'check if the name of the next element is bigger then the name of the first element
function elementIsAfter (thisElement, nextElement)
    dim compareResult
    compareResult = StrComp(thisElement.Name, nextElement.Name,1)
    if compareResult > 0 then
        elementIsAfter = True
    else
        elementIsAfter = False
    end if
end function

This article was originally published on bellekens.com

Find Real Orphans

Enterprise Architect comes standard with an Find Orphans search, which is supposed to give you a list of all elements that are no longer used in the model, and thus better be removed from the model altogether.

Find Orphans

The problem with this search is that it will only report elements that are not shown on a diagram; which should not be the only criterion to determine if an element is an orphan or not. Not being on a diagram is just fine. I have lots of elements in my model that are not on a diagram, that doesn’t mean they are not used anymore.

If you are going to delete all elements reported in the standard orphans search you might do serious damage to your model.

So in order to aid with the maintenance of a large model I wrote the following SQL Search.

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select distinct o.ea_guid as CLASSGUID,o.Object_Type as CLASSTYPE,o.Name as Name, o.Stereotype,
package.name as PackageName ,package_p1.name as PackageLevel1,package_p2.name as PackageLevel2 ,package_p3.name as PackageLevel3
from ((((((((((((((((( t_object o
left join t_diagramobjects dob on dob.[Object_ID] = o.[Object_ID])
left join t_object inst on inst.[Classifier] = o.[Object_ID])
left join t_objectproperties otv on otv.VALUE = o.[ea_guid])
left join t_connectortag ctv on ctv.VALUE = o.[ea_guid])
left join t_attributetag atv on atv.VALUE = o.[ea_guid])
left join t_operationtag optv on optv.VALUE = o.[ea_guid])
left join t_object u on u.Pdata1 = o.ea_guid)
left join t_connector cs on cs.Start_Object_ID = o.Object_ID)
left join t_connector ce on ce.End_Object_ID = o.Object_ID)
left join t_attribute att on att.Classifier like o.Object_ID)
left join t_operation op on op.Classifier like o.Object_ID)
left join t_operationparams opp on opp.Classifier like o.Object_ID)
left join t_object owned on owned.ParentID = o.Object_ID)
inner join t_package package on o.package_id = package.package_id)
left join t_package package_p1 on package_p1.package_id = package.parent_id)
left join t_package package_p2 on package_p2.package_id = package_p1.parent_id)
left join t_package package_p3 on package_p3.package_id = package_p2.parent_id)
where
o.Package_ID in (#Branch#)
and (o.name is null or o.Name like '#WC#<Search Term>#WC#')
and o.Object_Type not in ('Package')
and (o.Stereotype is null or o.Stereotype not in ('model document'))
and dob.Object_ID is null
and inst.Object_ID is null
and otv.VALUE is null
and ctv.Value is null
and atv.Value is null
and optv.Value is null
and u.Object_ID is null
and cs.Start_Object_ID is null
and ce.End_Object_ID is null
and att.Classifier is null
and op.Classifier is null
and opp.Classifier is null
and owned.Object_ID is null

This search will look for all elements that

  • Are located in the currently selected package branch
  • Are not a package or a model document  (section in a virtual document)
  • Are not used on a diagram
  • Are not used as the Classifier of an instance
  • Are not referenced by any tagged value
  • Are not used as the source or target of any relation
  • Are not used as the type of an attribute
  • Are not used as the return type of an operation
  • Are not used as the type of a parameter
  • Do not own any other elements

Elements that show up in this search are most probably real orphans that clutter your model and can be safely deleted.

Of course, before you delete anything from the model, make sure you have a backup!

Find Real OrphansIn order to use this search create a new search of type SQL and paste the above query into the query builder field.

If you find anything that should be added to this search please let me know.

Related

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