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EA Modelling Tools SQL

Overview

This repository contains searches in the form of SQL queries that have been exported individually using Enterprise Architect (EA). This makes it easier to version control them and collaborate with others to further develop the query collection.

In addition, this repository contains a set of search views that are based on the searches, for easier identification of certain model elements.

Installation

The first option is to import the EA Modelling Tools SQL MDG Technology (mdg_eamt_sql.xml). Import makes the model searches available in the search category "EA Modelling Tools SQL" in the Find in Project window and makes the search views available under the root-node "EA Modelling Tools SQL Views" in the Model Views window. With this option, the model searches and model views are not editable. Therefore, import the MDG if you only want to use the searches and views. See the EA User Guide for how to import an MDG Technology.

The second option is to import the searches (ea_search.xml) and the views (ea_modelviews.xml) so they appear in search category "My Searches" in the Find in Project window and under "EA Modelling Tools SQL Views" in the Model Views window, respectively. With this option, the searches and views are editable. This option is applicable if you want to modify the searches and views and update them in this repository. See the EA User Guide for how to import model searches and how to import model views.

Usage

Model searches

Access the search functionality by pressing Ctrl + F.

Sparx Systems has published a video about model searches, watch it here.

The model searches in this repository are searches that are not based on the Query Builder, but on the SQL Editor.

The queries in this repository have been tested with .qea file repositories, which are based on SQLite.

See also the section on Model Search in the EA User Guide.

Search views

Access the model view functionality by going to Start > All Windows > Design > Explore > Focus > Model Views.

The model views in this repository are search views that are based on the model searches in this repository. They are organized in view folders. Each view folder organizes a set of model searches that return elements that are not in accordance with a certain set of modelling rules.

⚠ A search view can only show model elements that are also available in the browser window. This means that connectors and association ends will not be shown in search views even though they are present in the results of the model search. Therefore, often, sets of related search views are present:

  1. One search view based on the model search that finds attributes (shown in the search view) and associations ends (not shown in the search view). For example, a search view based on model search properties_without_explicit_multiplicity.
  2. A second search view based on a similar search that finds association ends and that matches the associations ends to the classifiers they are a property of (t_object.ea_guid AS CLASSGUID instead of t_connector.ea_guid AS CLASSGUID, see below). For example, a search view based on model search classifiers_with_navigable_association_ends_without_explicit_multiplicity.

See also the section on Model Views in the EA User Guide.

Writing new queries

Formatting

The formatting of the queries is not important when running a search from the "Find in Project" tab. However, the formatting is important when the queries are supposed to be reused in, for example, the creation of search views in the Model Views tab or the creation of model documents.

In those cases, the query must include the case sensitive phrase ea_guid AS CLASSGUID and the object type (using the alias CLASSTYPE). Therefore, the queries are formatted with upper case keywords.

EA provides no functionality to format queries, this can be done with a dedicated database tool.

Column CLASSGUID

The query must include the phrase ea_guid AS CLASSGUID so that you can right-click on the results and, for example, have access to finding the model element in the Project Browser.

CLASSGUID is not shown as a column in the results.

See the section Create Search Definitions in the EA User Guide for more information.

Column CLASSTYPE

The query must include the phrase <classtype> AS CLASSTYPE so that an icon can be displayed for the model element. Possible values for <classtype> are shown in the table below.

Table CLASSTYPE Icon Comment
t_package 'Package' package
t_object t_object.object_type Depends on object_type:
class
data type
enumeration
constraint
…
t_attribute 'Attribute' attribute
t_connector t_connector.connector_type Depends on connector_type:
association
generalization
aggregation
…		 Connector ends are not stand-alone objects in EA. Use t_connector.connector_type when the focus is on the connector itself.
t_connector 'AssociationEnd' association end Connector ends are not stand-alone objects in EA. Use AssociationEnd when the connector is an association (including aggregations and compositions) and when the focus is on the association end.
t_diagram t_diagram.diagram_type diagram

CLASSTYPE is not shown as a column in the results.

EA does not distinguish between attributes and enumeration literals with regard to the symbol.

See the section Create Search Definitions in the EA User Guide for more information.

Column CLASSTABLE

In queries for connectors and diagrams, the phrase <classtable> AS CLASSTABLE must be included in order for the right icon to be displayed.

Table CLASSTABLE
t_connector 't_connector'
t_diagram 't_diagram'

CLASSTABLE is not shown as a column in the results.

See the section Create Search Definitions in the EA User Guide for more information.

Writing comments

EA allows the use of macros (#xxx) in the WHERE part of SQL queries, so that the same search can be used by different people in different environments. The #DB=<DBNAME># macro only uses the section of code between two matching #DB=<DBNAME># macros if the current database type matches the specified DBNAME. It can be used where a section of the SQL might require special handling depending upon the current database type. This functionality can be used to add some text that will be not be executed by using a dummy name, e.g. COMMENT. This macro must be used in the end of the query, not in the beginning.

SELECT
  o.ea_guid AS CLASSGUID,
  o.object_type AS CLASSTYPE,
  o.*
FROM
  t_object o;
#DB=COMMENT# This is a comment #DB=COMMENT#

See the section Create Search Definitions in the EA User Guide for more information.

Queries with common table expressions

EA expects a query to start with SELECT. Nest a query using a common table expression in a simple query to get around this:

SELECT
	*
FROM
	(
WITH RECURSIVE self_and_ancestors AS (
	SELECT
		*
	FROM
		t_package
	WHERE
		t_package.package_id = #Package#
UNION ALL
	SELECT
		p.*
	FROM
		t_package AS p,
		self_and_ancestors AS s
	WHERE
		p.package_id = s.parent_id
)
	SELECT
		name
	FROM
		self_and_ancestors);;

Exporting queries

The queries are exported using the built-in functionality. Each query has to be saved in a separate file, to make it easier to track changes.

Creating new search views

The search views are maintained in EA, in Model View root node "EA Modelling Tools SQL".

Make sure that the GUID of Model View root node "EA Modelling Tools SQL" is the same as the GUID in this repository before exporting the model views. EA changes the GUID of that node upon import (the other GUIDs are kept). The GUIDs can be updated with a dedicated SQLite tool using the following queries. Close your EA project before executing the queries.

SELECT xrefid FROM t_xrefsystem WHERE name = 'EA Modelling Tools SQL';
UPDATE t_xrefsystem SET xrefid = '{B9DDF7FF-6B27-425b-B741-A8C69E89C6DB}' WHERE xrefid = 'replace_with_xref_id_from_first_query';
UPDATE t_xrefsystem SET supplier = '{B9DDF7FF-6B27-425b-B741-A8C69E89C6DB}' WHERE supplier = 'replace_with_xref_id_from_first_query';

The search views are exported using the built-in functionality. The search views are exported together in one file.

File modelviews.xml has to be formatted before it is committed, to make it easier to see changes between commits. Use e.g. the Pretty Print option from the XML Tools plugin in Notepad++. The file in the repository is formatted with a tab size of 4 and spaces instead of tabs.

If the search views need to be reorganised (e.g. moved to a different category):

  1. Export the latest version you have in EA
  2. Format the resulting XML file (see above)
  3. Reorganise the search views in the XML file
  4. Delete the EA Modelling Tools SQL model views from EA
  5. Import the search views in the reorganised XML file

The GUIDs of the root node (<RootView>), views folders (<Category>) and search views (<Search>) are kept by following the procedures above. Keeping the GUIDs improves the traceability of changes.

Building

It is a prerequisite that Saxon is installed and that the environment variable SAXON_CP points to the location of the main Saxon jar file.

Run the Powershell scripts from directory ea-modelling-tools-sql, not from directory build.

.\build\build.ps1 -mdgVersion:a.b.c

The scripts are combined into four files:

  1. an MDG Technology (mdg_eamt_sql.xml);
  2. a file containing the searches, following the same structure as in searches exported from EA and as in C:\Users<username>\AppData\Roaming\Sparx Systems\EA\Search Data\EA_Search.xml (ea_search.xml);
  3. a file containing the search views (ea_modelviews.xml), a simple copy of the search views file in the source code;
  4. an HTML file listing all the searches and their comments (ea_search_doc.xhtml).