[RDA] How to open a physical model (schema)   

Hey,

I would like to know how to open a physical data model (from a design project) using the API.
I know how to "traverse" a schema if this schema is currently selected into the project explorer but how can I retrieve this schema if I only have the .dbm filename ?

Thanks

Thanks for your answer but this not what I want to do.
I want to open the .dbm file with the Java api (datatool api ??).

I'm looking for something like this :

Database db = SOME_UNKNOWN_CLASS.loadPhysicalModel("myPhysicalModel.dbm");

I want to do that into a pluglet.

Note : I know how to retrieve the database, schema or tables from the selection in the project explorer but here, I would like to open a .dbm file from its filename.

Thanks if you can help me again

Erik,

You are probably not going to find too many Data Architects and Data Modelers trying to access and manipulate the data models outside the tool and I wonder why would you need to do that, unless you are looking to extend IDA rather than just read the models.

However, you might want to look at the article: " Extend IBM InfoSphere Data Architect to meet your specific data modeling and integration requirements, Part 1: Modifying IDA models and customizing properties". The article is very specific and it shows you the SQL Model Schema diagram as well as traversing the model.
Because IDA uses the SQL model defined in DTP as the basis of its metamodels, the section Programmatically traverse and modify RDA logical data model and physical data model, as well as the sample code provided with the article, were updated on June 2009.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0807liu/index.html

I hope this helps,

Norma

Erik,

The simple answer is no. There is no IDA API available for what you are looking to do. The IDA team will not recommend any such API.

Norma

As part of the IDA team, I can confirm that the API for the purpose you are trying to use is not available at present. It might be made available in the future but I don't see it in the product plan in the near horizon. If it is a high priority for you, please follow up with your IBM sales rep so that he can open it as a Requirement against the product.

Thanks to myself !!!

Here is the code to load a physical data model

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
 
import org.eclipse.emf.common.util.URI;
import org.eclipse.emf.ecore.EObject;
import org.eclipse.emf.ecore.resource.Resource;
import org.eclipse.emf.ecore.xmi.impl.XMIResourceImpl;
import org.eclipse.wst.rdb.internal.models.sql.schema.SQLObject;
 
public class PhysicalDataModelLoader {
 
	private Resource theEMFResource = null;
 
	private SQLObject root = null;
 
	public PhysicalDataModelLoader(String projectName,
			String projectRelativeFilename) {
		URI fileURI = URI.createPlatformResourceURI("platform:/" + projectName
				+ "/" + projectRelativeFilename);
		this.theEMFResource = new XMIResourceImpl(fileURI);
	}
 
	public void load() throws IOException {
		if (!theEMFResource.isLoaded()) {
			Map options = new HashMap();
			options.put("DECLARE_XML", Boolean.TRUE);
			options.put("ENCODING", "UTF-8");
			theEMFResource.load(options);
		}
		if (theEMFResource.isLoaded()) {
			EObject current = (EObject) theEMFResource.getContents().get(0);
			setRoot(current);
		}
	}
 
	private void setRoot(EObject newObject) {
		this.root = (SQLObject) newObject;
	}
 
	public SQLObject getRoot() {
		return root;
	}
}

To use this basic class, do the following :

PhysicalDataModelLoader loader = new PhysicalDataModelLoader("MyDBProject","Entity.dbm");						
						try {
							loader.load();
							SQLObject root = loader.getRoot();											
							
							Database db = (Database)root;
							List<Schema> schemas = db.getSchemas();
							for (Schema schema : schemas)
								out.println("Schema : "+schema.getName());
						} catch (IOException e) {							
							e.printStackTrace();
						}

Erik,

Thanks for doing this!
This is very helpful for us Data Modelers, even if we have to pass it to one of our programmer friends in order to get done what we need to get done.

I don't know what you are planning to use this for, but as an ERwin user who has written VBA code against the ERwin API we use this kind of thing for mass updates to the model. For example, suppose we have have a project where we have added a couple dozen tables and a couple hundred attributes and now we need to populate the information classification UDFs (in IDA that would be a custom property). We can easily populate a spreadsheet with the attributes and values then invoke the ERwin API to do a mass update to the model from the spreadsheet.

IDA is going to have either document their API or provide some kind of customizable interface to allow its user base to do this. I favor the interface approach simply because I know most of my peers would rather spend their time modeling and not programming. Certainly would be a selling point over ERwin.....

Thanks,

Craig