Packaging custom UML profiles

When you have finished authoring your custom UML profile and you are ready to make it available to others, you must deploy your profile. One way to deploy your custom UML profile is to create a plug-in and package your profile in the new plug-in. Then, modify the plugin.xml file to include an extension point to your profile. You can then install the profile plug-in and apply the profile to a model. You should define a pathmap to the profile. Package your custom UML profile if you want the profile to be listed as a deployed profile in the product. You may first want to release the profile to ensure that you cannot make changes to a profile that adversely affect models that have the released profile applied to them.

Before you deploy your profile, you must validate the profile and resolve any errors. You must also be familiar with the plug-in creation process.
To package a custom UML profile:
  1. Create a plug-in. A folder that contains the plug-in files is generated when you create a plug-in. One of the generated files is a plugin.xml file.
  2. In the main directory of your plug-in, create a folder called Profiles.
  3. Close the UML Profile Editor.
  4. Copy the EPX file to the Profiles folder.
  5. To define a pathmap to the profile folder, in your new plug-in folder, in the plugin.xml file, complete the following steps:
    1. Add com.ibm.xtools.emf.msl to the required plug-ins.
    2. Add com.ibm.xtools.emf.msl.Pathmaps to the extensions.
    3. Add a pathmap to the extension from the previous step that specifies the name of the folder.
      Tip: The name is the name of the pathmap that you use in step 6. The path is Profiles from step 2.
  6. To add the profile extension, in your new plug-in folder, in the plugin.xml file, complete the following steps:
    1. Add com.ibm.xtools.uml2.msl to the required plug-ins.
    2. Add com.ibm.xtools.uml2.msl.UMLProfiles to the extensions.
    3. Add a UML profile to the extension from the previous step.
      Tip: In the following path example, pathmap://PATHMAP_NAME/ProfileFileName.epx, the path is a reference to the profile file with the pathmap you defined in step 5. PATHMAP_NAME is the name of the pathmap you defined in step 5. ProfileFileName.epx is the name of the profile you copied to the Profiles folder.
  7. Copy the profile plug-in to the plug-ins folder of your installation directory.
Related concepts
Custom UML profiles
Related reference
Extension point reference: UML profiles
Plug-in creation process
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