Rational Programming Patterns

Data Element description in a Meta Entity (Type) or Meta Data Aggregate

You can add a Data Element description in a Meta Entity, Meta Entity Type, or Meta Data Aggregate. When you insert a Data Element description line in the composition tree for the current entity, you must then define its characteristics in the section which opens in the Composition tab. Each description line corresponds to a Data Element (a field) included in the description of a User Entity. For each Data Element, you must indicate its format, values, intervals.

Component Usage

Minimum Cardinality
Enter a numeric value to indicate a minimum cardinality. The default value is '0' for not mandatory.
Maximum Cardinality
Enter a numeric value to indicate a maximum cardinality. The default value is 'n' which means that it is unbounded.

These values indicate the minimum and maximum, or equal number of occurrences possible in a User Entity for this description.

Checks are set on the values entered in these fields. For example, if you define by error a minimum cardinality which is in fact higher than the maximum cardinality, a message indicates in a tooltip that the maximum cardinality must be higher, or equal to the minimum cardinality. Modify the cardinality. Otherwise, you can find errors in your User Entities.

Value Control
This option is not available for a Data Aggregate description, it is displayed in the definition of Data Element descriptions and Pac Data Elements. If you check this option, only the values entered in the Allowed values table, or the Intervals table are selected.

Data Element Description

Name
Enter the name of the Data Element description.
Label
Enter a label for the Data Element description.
Type
In this field, select the format of the Data Element description. Indicate here the type, or format of the data which is meant to be entered, or called for this Data Element field in the User Entity.
Table 1.
Type Comments
Date type The date format is based on the SimpleDateFormat Java class. Date and time formats are specified by date and time pattern strings. The cardinality of the description must be (0-n). Enter a date and time format in the Format . Click the following link to find date and time patterns .
Decimal type Enter a decimal value in the Initial value field (2.0 for example). Then, enter a minimum and maximum decimal value in the Data Element description Detail section. The Data Element description must be contained between these two values in the User Entity.
Float type Enter a value with a float Java format in Initial value (10e12 for example). Select the type of float in the Capacity field.
Integer type Enter an integer value in the Initial value field. Then, enter a minimum and maximum integer value in the Data Element description Detail section. The data entered for this Data Element in the User Entity has a value between these two defined values.
String type Enter alphanumeric characters in Initial value. You can enter the optional fields associated with the String type choice: Initial value, Maximum length, and Case.
Byte type Enter a byte value in Initial value. Enter a Maximum length in the Data Element description Detail section
Time Stamp type Enter a date with a Java stamp format as initial value. It consists in a series of digits.
Reference type The reference type is used to specify a relation between a User Entity and another, or several entities. You must select the linked entity.
Initial Value
This field is available for all types of format but it is dimmed for the Reference type. Enter a value which is the initial value that the User Entity contains.
Data Element Description Detail
The contents of this section depends on the type of format, or type of data selected in the former Type field in the Data Element description section.

Type Definition
Format
This field shows up when you select a Date type. The date format is based on the SimpleDateFormat Java class. Date and time formats are specified by date and time pattern strings.
Example: Date and time format: yyyyMMdd G at HH:mm:ss z.
The format applies automatically to the specified possible values.
Capacity
This field shows up when you select a Float type. It corresponds to the capacity of the float value, it can be a simple float Java value, or a double float Java value.
Minimum value
This field shows up when you select a type Decimal, Integer, or Time Stamp. Here you define a minimum value for the integer, decimal, or time stamp data in a User Entity.
Maximum value
This field shows up when you select a type Decimal, Integer, or Time Stamp. Here you define a maximum value for the integer, decimal, or time stamp data in a User Entity.
maximum length
This field shows up when you select a String type, or Byte type. Enter a maximum value for the data which is entered in the User Entity. The maximum for a byte type is one million bytes. You are advised against overloading the memory. The default value is 10000 for a byte string type. For a string type, it is -1, which means an unlimited number of characters.
Case
This field shows up when you select a type String. Select one of the option in this field to have the content of the data entered in the User Entity in uppercase or lowercase.
Allowed Values
You can define authorized values for the current Data Element description. If no value has ever been assigned to the current Data Element description, the list is empty. If it is not empty, the authorized values and their labels are displayed. Click + to add a new line in the table. To modify any of the listed values, overwrite it. To do so, click it and replace the value with a new one. Each value in the table is identified with Allowed value. Click to remove a line from the table. You can reorder the lines in the table with the direction buttons.
Intervals
Click + to add an Interval line.

In the fields which show up, you can enter a minimum value, a maximum value, indicate if the minimum or maximum value must be included, and a label. The interval you enter here must conform to the length and the class type defined for the Data Element description.

When the Data Element takes on a range of values (notion of interval), the range must be described as two values between parentheses (separated by a comma and a space). Inverted square brackets indicate that the given value is excluded from the range.

Example: ['E'(), 'Z'()] : from E inclusive to Z inclusive, or ]E(), Z()[ : from E exclusive to Z exclusive, or ]'E'(), 'Z'()] : from E exclusive to Z inclusive, or the reverse. When the fields are completed, click the line in the table to refresh.
Relation type
The Relation type field is displayed in the Data Element description detail pane when you select a Reference type. It contains two tables. You can either check the All types option, to indicate that the relation is made with all entity types, or select in the table, one or more entity types. If you select the User Entity type, click + to add the Meta Entity it is related to, in the table.

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