Posts

Using Document Script fragments in Sparx EA

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In this article we discover the possibilities of Document Script fragments when dealing with complex requirements for document geneneration templates in Sparx Enterprise Architect.

The request

The other day I got a difficult request for a document generation template. At this client they are documenting Use Case scenarios using the structured scenario editor in EA. Each scenario step can be linked to a requirement element.

Each Requirement could have one or more constraints

Based on these scenarios the customer wanted to generate a test scenario document that contained a table like this

StepStep descriptionRequirementRequirement constraints
1User chooses to make a new reservation
2System show the reservation screen where the user can enter Begin, Endate and Roomtype
3User enters begindate and enddate or the numbers of nightsREQ_RV_ 403 Reservation periodInvariant: StartDate < Enddate
Post-condition: A reservation must have a reservation period in the future

The first three columns are available in the standard point and click templates, but the problematic part is the Requirement constraints.… Read more

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Presenting the new open source Enterprise Architect 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, an they can be easily edited using the profile helper.… Read more

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How to use the Enterprise Architect VBScript Library

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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.… Read more

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Automatically trace elements to domain model in Enterprise Architect

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.… Read more

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Set all line styles in an Enterprise Architect diagram automatically

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.… Read more

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Tutorial: Generate complex documents from Enterprise Architect with a two-step semi-automated approach

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  • 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.… Read more

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Configure your own default line styles in Enterprise Architect with EA-Matic

With EA-Matic you can develop add-ins for Enterprise Architect using the built-in scripting feature of EA.

With this EA-Matic script you can configure your own default line-styles depending on the type of connector.

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

Line Styles

Unfortunately you can only choose from the first three to be the default line style for new connectors.

line style default options

Additionally you can also specify the default for Generalization to be Tree Style.… Read more

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Automatically synchronize overrides in Enterprise Architect with EA-Matic

With EA-Matic you can develop add-ins for Enterprise Architect using the built-in scripting feature of EA.

This example EA-Matic script keeps the signature of the overriding operations in sync with the signature of the overridden operation.

This is especially useful when you are modelling an interface and a number of classes that realize this interface. EA has this neat feature Overrides and Implementations accessed by Ctrl-Shift-O to copy operations from an interface or superclass to the realizing/specializing class.

EA-Matic Overides and Implmentations

This works great when you have created a new operation, or added a new realizing class, but once you change the signature of your interface operation you are on your own.… Read more

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Synchronize object and classifier name in Enterprise Architect with EA-Matic

With EA-Matic you can develop add-ins for Enterprise Architect using the built-in scripting feature of EA.

This example EA-Matic script keeps the names of objects synchronized with the name of their classifier.

When modelling with objects the name of the object is often left empty because it doesn’t have any significance at that point. One of the downsides of this practice is that in things like the traceability view, or in the links view the object shows up without a name, which of course doesn’t help much.… Read more

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Self-maintaining diagrams in Enterprise Architect with EA-Matic

With EA-Matic you can develop add-ins for Enterprise Architect using the built-in scripting feature of EA.

This example shows how to make diagrams that maintain themselves to make sure they are always up-to-date.

The idea is that we want a diagram that shows all the relations of the owning object. The diagram should always be up-to-date without manual intervention.

EA-Matic auto_diagram

To indicate that this diagram is an automatic diagram we nest it under the class and prefix it with AUTO_ and on the diagram we place the owning object and its related elements

EA-Matic self-maintaining diagram

Usage of Enterprise Architect Add-in Framework

This script also illustrates how you can use the Enterprise Architect Add-in Framework within your script.… Read more

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