Add Ports to Connector

Overview

The Rhapsody Power Pack provides a collection of useful table layouts. This helper provides an easy way to add a table based upon one of those layouts or even one of your own.

Applicable To	Connector / Link
Menu Entry	Power Pack  Add Ports to Connector  Proxy Ports Power Pack  Add Ports to Connector  Flow Ports Power Pack  Add Ports to Connector  Standard Ports
Demonstration	Watch the Video

This helper may also be automatically invoked as a Triggered Helper.

Operation

This helper should be invoked on a link/connector on a diagram. If the selected connector is between two instances, then the automation occurs – in all other cases no action is taken

Connector Between Instances

The originally drawn connector is deleted (Rhapsody does not allow retargeting of an existing connector).

Two new ports are created, one at each end of the old link and a new connector is created between the new ports.

Port Naming

The naming strategy for new ports is pTarget where Target is the name of the ‘other end’ of the connector. If a port already exists with this name then the ports are created with default names (that is the automation provides no name and Rhapsody names them itself).

Additional Actions

Depending on the port type created, the following additional actions are performed:

Flow Ports

· Both ports are typed as ‘int’ (this is necessary as implicit flow ports have no direction).

· The port at the ‘start’ of the connector is given a direction of Out.

· The port at the ‘end’ of the connector is given a direction of In.

Proxy Ports

· A new Interface Block is created* in the same package as the ‘start’ of the connector.

· Both ports are typed by the new interface block.

· The port at the ‘end’ of the connector is set to conjugated.

*The naming strategy for the new Interface Block is ISource_Target where Source and target are the elements at either end of the connector. If the interface already exists then it is re-used and applied as the contract for the new ports.

UML Models

The default port is Proxy port however this type of model element does not exist in UML models. The helper detects if SysML is present and if not then any attempt to create Proxy Ports (either manually or through the Triggered Helper) results in a Standard Port instead.