OBJECTIVES:
The new learning objectives of this exercise are to create a repository connection to a Collaborator repository with the Syndeia Plug-in for Rhapsody, view the repository including search, and create a reference connection.
PREPARATION:
This exercise assumes the student has
· Rhapsody 8.4 or above installed correctly on his or her machine with a valid license for use, and
· Syndeia 3.5 installed as a plugin for Cameo/MagicDraw with a valid license for use
· Syndeia Collaborator interface, correctly installed with a valid license for user
· Syndeia Cloud 3.5 installed with a valid user account, and
· A valid user account to a Collaborator repository.
The user can use any Collaborator repository they have available. Because the content of your Collaborator repository will be different, the specific examples in the following exercise instructions are only a guide and example for your actions. It is generally advisable to carry out these exercises in a non-production repository, a “sandbox”, set up for training and practice purposes.
BACKGROUND- COLLABORATOR:
As envisioned by Intercax, the Digital Thread is composed of inter-model connections between models in different repositories, which Syndeia creates and manages, and intra-model connections between elements in the same repository, which the individual tool creates and manages. As of Syndeia release 3.5, the Syndeia Web Dashboard can extract and display some model information from the Collaborator repository. Figure 1 shows a view of this information in the Syndeia dashboard Repository Manager with labels identifying the Collaborator element types. Note the different icons. The label color coding indicates how the Collaborator element type is mapped to the Syndeia Cloud element types: Repository (green), Container (red), and Artifact (blue).
This information is important in formulating and interpreting Syndeia graph queries. A more complete diagram of the Collaborator data model as it is understood by Syndeia is available through the Syndeia help menu.
Figure 1 : Repository Manager view of Collaborator repository
EXERCISE:
Launch the Syndeia Dashboard (see Video 1.1) and open the Repository Manager tab (Figure 2).
Figure 2 : Syndeia Dashboard, Repository Manager tab
If no repository connection to Collaborator is available, right-click on Collaborator in the left column and select Add... Complete the form (consult your Collaborator administrator for the property values in your organization; Grant Type and Scope show default values) and click OK (Figure 3).
Figure 3 : Adding a Collaborator repository connection
If a Collaborator repository connection already appears under Collaborator, but you need to add your own access credential, right-click on the repository in the left column and select Update…. Complete username and password and click Update (Figure 4).
Figure 4 : Updating Collaborator repository info
In the left column, select a Collaborator repository connection (Collaborator @ Intercax). Your repository should appear at the top of the right side. Expand it to show Reviews, Participants and Defects, as in Figure 5. See Background section for discussion of Collaborator artifact types. It may be necessary to right-click the repository and select Refresh before it can be expanded.
Figure 5 : Viewing Collaborator repository contents on Repository Manager tab
On the right border, click the button labeled Search Repository. In the Search Repository window under New Search, select Review by Text or Review by ID to search for a specific review.
If Review by Text is selected, fill in the blank field with a text string and click Search. In our example, we entered Hello. The result(s) of the search are shown below, as in Figure 6.
If Review by Text is selected, fill in the blank field with the review’s Collaborator ID (external id) and click Search. For example, the entry Review-4 returns the search results Hello Syndeia 3.5 Review.
If you right-click on an item under search results, several options are available, including opening the item in the Collaborator browser interface or Get Info, which shows the item properties in the notification window at the bottom of the dashboard.
Click outside the Search window to close it.
Figure 6 : Syndeia dashboard, Repository Manager tab, Search feature (search result highlighted in red)
To create a reference connection between a Collaborator item and an element in another repository, go to the Connection Manager tab, select and expand the Collaborator repository in one column and the second repository in the other. In our example in Figure 7, we have opened the Rhapsody model on the left and Collaborator on the right.
Select Reference as the Connection Type in the center column.
Create a reference connection by dragging an element in one column on top of an element in the other. Confirm that you want to create a reference connection. In our example, we dragged the APU block in SysML onto the Hello Syndeia 3.5 Review review in Collaborator.
Note: In Syndeia release 3.5, it is not possible to create Model Transform inter-model connections to Collaborator. Some use cases of this type may be added in future releases.
Figure 7 : Syndeia dashboard, Connection Manager tab, creating reference connection
7. Having created the reference link, it can be used from the SysML modeling tool to access the Collaborator part by right-clicking on the linked SysML element in either the Containment browser or a diagram and selecting Syndeia/Open Connected Artifacts, as in Figure 8. The linked Collaborator part will appear in the user’s browser.
Figure 8 : Rhapsody interface, launching connection to Collaborator part from linked SysML element
8. The reference link can be used to detect changes in the Collaborator part from the Syndeia dashboard.
Edit the Collaborator part opened in the previous step and save a new version.
In the Connection Search tab of the Syndeia dashboard, click Get All to ensure that all connections are showing. Right-click the reference connection just created and select Compare Source and Target, as in Figure 9.
Figure 9 : Syndeia dashboard, Connection Search tab, comparing across reference connection
9. The result of the compare operation is displayed as red (Figure 10) in a difference table. Hovering over the Comment section indicates that a newer version of the Collaborator review has been posted since the connection was originally created.
Figure 10 : Syndeia dashboard, Comparison Result tab (Comment field has been word-wrapped in the figure for easier reading)
10. The reference connection can be updated to point to the latest version of the Collaborator review by right-clicking on the connection in the Connection Search tab (Figure 9), the Comparison Result tab (Figure 10) or the Connection Browser tab (Figure 11) and selecting either Sync Source -> Target or Sync Target -> Source. The result is the same for reference connections.
Figure 11 : Syndeia dashboard, Connection Browser tab, syncing across reference connection