Attributes links to domains lost

[Former Member]

We are beginning to build a data dictionary using Domains in a Conceptual Data Model.  The Domains in this CDM must support many underlying Logical Data Models and Object Data Models.  To make this work, we compose and edit the Domains in the single CDM and then forward-engineer that CDM-DataDict into an LDM-DataDict..  From the LDM_DataDict, we merge only the Domain objects into  LDM_1, LDM_2, ... ,LDM_N.

   In the subsidiary models, LDM_1, etc., are the actual relational models with Entity Attributes..  We link the Attributes to their proper Domains.  Our expectation is that the linkage is established on a hidden ID assigned in the CDM and passed-through the LDM-DataDict and finally to the actual models: LDM_1,  etc.  If so, we ought to be able to edit the Domains in the CDM-DataDict, repeat the forward-engineering and merging into the actual models.

    Our repeated experience is that some Attributes' linkages to edited domains survive while others are lost.  In the latter case, we have to manually re-link the Attributes to the edited Domains.

     What accounts for this strange behavior?  It seems as if PowerDesigner, on editing a Domain,  changes a Domain's internal ID value in some cases and preserves it's value in other cases.  We haven't noticed a pattern that distinguishes these two cases.

      What can we do to force PowerDesigner to preserve its internal ID value when editing a Domain?

[GeorgeMcGeachie]

Every PowerDesigner object has a unique internal id. If you generate a new model, the objects in the new model all have new ids. When you generate a LDM from a CDM, you have the option to keep the generation dependencies; if you choose that option, the LDM domain knows which CDM domain it came from, and the CDM domains know which LDM domains were generated from it. So, that should create traceability between the two models.

When you merge domains from LDM A into LDM B, there is no such traceability - you would have to generate into LDM B instead of merging if you want that.

So, you have a CDM, an LDM (the LDM-DataDict) you generated from it, plus several other LDMs that you've updated from the LDM-DataDict. All of the domains have different unique ids.

When you re-generate the LDM-DataDict or merge from the LDM-DataDict into other LDMs, you will use the standard merging dialogue, which allows you to choose which updates to make. So, here's a question for you:

• When you merge from LDM-DataDict into the other LDMs, what changes do you see listed for the domains and attributes that become 'unlinked'?

It's possible that PowerDesigner's behaving this way in order to preserve the integrity of changes you've made to the LDMs.

[former_member200945]

What PD version are you using?
Have you tried 16.6SP01?

For us to better understand the issue, please use the cdm sample we provided

(in your Powerdesigner folder, Examples subfolder) to reproduce the issue.

Then list step.

[Former Member]

I am on Version 16.5.3.3 (4371) and 16.5 SP03 PL03 (64-bit).

Am I correct in surmising that such a problem as I've described is characteristic of the version I'm on but should be addressed in 16.6SP01?

If so (with a high degree of probability) then it is most likely futile to recreate the issue using the cdm sample provided in the Powerdesigner folder.

Moreover, If I try to recreate the issue using your sample I might have to create a large enough number of Domains and Attributes linked to those Domains in a separate LDM.  As I mentioned, the adverse behavior is not uniform; it occurs with some Domains but not with others.

If the prescription would be to upgrade to 16.6SP01 then I'll have to wait until we upgrade (expected in August).

As an alternative to trying to recreate the issue using your sample cdm, do you have a VM on which I could run the experiment using my CDM and LDM?

Thanks,

Mark

[former_member200945]

Yes.

If you see inconsistent behavior, please try on new version.

In many cases, the problem never show up in new version.

[Former Member]

How can I try on a new version without having a new version available to me?

I can wait until my company upgrades to the new version; but that might take months.

Do you have a VM that you could make available to me where I could copy my model and attempt to reproduce the error?  If I succeeded in reproducing the error on the new version that that would be informative.  Conversely, if I failed to reproduce the error on the new version that would strongly indicate that the solution lies in waiting until we upgrade.

[former_member200945]

Google search for "Powerdesigner eval".

It gives you 15 days trail