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Table 15.1 shows the most common tasks and the tools that can be used for that purpose.
Table 15.1Designer/2000 Tools to Use for Specific Tasks
Task | Tool |
Model the process flow | Process modeler or dataflow diagrammer |
Entity relationship diagram | ER diagrammer |
List entities and processes | Repository reports |
Mapping entity usages to processes | Matrix diagrammer |
Functional decomposition | Function hierarchy diagrammer |
Moving from one phase to another | RON (application versioning) |
Prototyping | Generators |
GUI standards implementation | Preferences navigator |
Physical database design | Database Design Wizard |
Refining of physical design | Data diagrammer and RON |
Application design | TD> Application Design Wizard|
Refining of application design | Module data diagrammer, module structure diagrammer, preferences navigator, module logic navigator, matrix diagrammer, RON |
Application module development | Generators |
Database object creation scripts | Data diagrammer, server generator |
Sanity check of the design | Matrix diagrammer |
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Task | Tool |
Documentation | Repository reports |
Fixing bugs | Depends on the utility |
User and repository management | Repository Object Navigator, Repository Administration Utility. |
Designer/2000 administration consists of the set of techniques used to monitor and manage a project's data. Tools provided by DES2K to perform these functions are accessible via the File and Application pull-down menus within the Repository Object Navigator (RON) and the Repository Administration Utility (RAU). Administration tasks include repository setup, granting permissions to repository users, migration, version control, and sharing of data elements.
The repository is implemented as a standard Oracle database. It consists of tables that store information about the system being analyzed, designed, and generated. Repository users who have sufficient privileges create one or more application systems and grant access at the application system level to other repository users. The creator/owner of the application system can share objects into their application system from another application system in which they are given share access by the owner of the other application system. These shared objects, however, can be modified only in the application system in which they are created.
To use the repository effectively, it is very important to understand its design and the elements that compose it. A few diagrams shipped by Oracle as part of the Designer/2000 software are very helpful in understanding the repository. They can also help you understand why Designer/2000 works the way it does. The repository consists of elements, associations between those elements, and the attributes of the elements or associations. Several types of elements and associations exist in the repository, such as Entity, Column, Function-Entity, and so on.
There are two groups of repository elements: primary access controlled (PAC) and secondary access controlled (SAC). Primary access controlled elements are owned by the application system; deleting a primary access controlled element deletes all its secondary access controlled elements. Examples of PAC include table, function, and module. Secondary access controlled elements are owned by a PAC. Some SACs can have detailed SACs of their own. Examples of SAC include attribute, ID, and so on. Associations are similar to SAC in the sense that they also need a parent and cannot exist independently; in fact, an association has two parentsthe two PACs that it links together. Associations are deleted when any of the two parent PACs are deleted. Examples of associations include function-entity usage and function-business unit usage. The repository model does not allow associations of associations. Figure 15.8 shows the usage of Repository Object Navigator.
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FIG. 15.8
The use of the
Repository Object
Navigator.
The Repository Administration Utility has a feature to calculate the repository size as small, medium, or large. The installation manual provides a chart that can be used to determine the tablespace needed in a repository of that size. The flexibility provided in the allocation of tablespaces and rollback segments should minimize the chances of running out of resources during install and upgrade.
Access to the Designer/2000 repository can be controlled by two main methods:
The Maintain Users tab of the Repository Administration Utility (RAU) is used to create new repository users. The RAU is accessible only to the repository owner. This tab contains the following information:
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Click the Reconcile button to save the changes.
Use the Repository Object Navigator to grant repository users access to a particular application system. Only the application system owner of the users with administrative access to the application system can perform this function. The effect of granting certain privileges by choosing Application, Grant Access is described in the following list:
These utilities allow the usage of one definition of an element in more than one application system. Table 15.2 describes the various commands and their usage. For example, if you have a Codes table defined in one application system that's required in another application system, you can share the table and ensure that the structure is identical in both application systems by using Designer/2000's Design Reuse feature. The application systems that will share the definitions should be in the same repository (see Table 15.3). Figure 15.9 shows the Repository Administration Utility.
Table 15.2Sharing and Transferring Objects
Commands | Description |
Utilities, Share | The application system states that it will allow another application system to use its objects. |
Utilities, Unshare | An application system states that it will no longer use another application system's element definition. |
Utilities, Transfer Ownership |
Moves a primary access element to another application system. |