Connector XML file format

Configuration Markup


<!ELEMENT connectors (modelReader | modelWriter)*>


<!ELEMENT modelReader (property* , fileExtension*)>
<!ATTLIST modelReader
metamodel   CDATA #REQUIRED
name        CDATA #REQUIRED
class       CDATA #REQUIRED
uriType     (file | directory | noURI | unspecified) #REQUIRED>

metamodel - the identifier (e.g. "uml21") of the metamodel. This identifier is required if the connector is external (defined in a connectors.xml file). It can be omitted if the connector is embedded in a metamodel declaration (defined in a metamodels.xml file), as the metamodel will be the parent XML element of the connector.
name - a unique name used to identify the model reader. The name must not collide with another model reader defined on the same metamodel.
class - a fully qualified name of the Java class implementing com.sodius.mdw.core.model.io.ModelReader
uriType - a type of URI (resource identifier) used as source location to read a model


<!ELEMENT modelWriter (property* , fileExtension*)>
<!ATTLIST modelWriter
metamodel   CDATA #REQUIRED
name        CDATA #REQUIRED
class       CDATA #REQUIRED
uriType     (file | directory | noURI | unspecified) #REQUIRED>

metamodel - the identifier (e.g. "uml21") of the metamodel
name - a unique name used to identify the model writer. The name must not collide with another model writer defined on the same metamodel.
class - a fully qualified name of the Java class implementing com.sodius.mdw.core.model.io.ModelWriter
uriType - a type of URI (resource identifier) used as source location to write a model


<!ELEMENT property EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST property
name        CDATA #REQUIRED
value       CDATA #REQUIRED>

name - a unique name of property. This name must be unique withing a model reader/writer (generally not interpreted by MDWorkbench, given as is to the connector).
value - a value for the property (generally not interpreted by MDWorkbench, given as is to the connector)

Here are the property names interpreted by MDWorkbench:

mdw.singleThread: Boolean property that can be used to tell MDWorkbench the underlying connector does not support multi-threaded environments.In MDWorkbench UI, this means the model should be loaded in the UI event dispatch thread. Default value is false.


<!ELEMENT fileExtension EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST fileExtension
extension   CDATA #REQUIRED
description CDATA #REQUIRED
default     (true | false) "false">

File extensions are used by MDWorkbench when the user opens a dialog box to select a file to read/write. They are used to restrict the type of files that shows up in this dialog. Extensions "All files" and "All suppported files" are automatically added by MDWorkbench in this dialog. File extension elements should only be defined for file connectors.

extension - a name of file extension (e.g. "xmi")
description - a description of the file extension, used by MDWorkbench for presentation to the end-user. The description will be suffixed by the extension when displayed ("myDescription (*.myExtension)").
default - if true, the file extension will be the default extension selected in the dialog box used to read/write a model. Only one file extension can be "default" for a model reader/writer. If no file extension is "default", then the "All supported extensions" will be the default extension selected.

URI type enumeration

Here are the available URI types:

file: a file based model reader. The end-user must select a file in MDWorkbench to be able to launch the connector. You can define supported file extensions using the fileExtension element.
directory: a directory based model reader. The end-user must select a directory in MDWorkbench to be able to launch the connector.
noURI: a model reader that does not need any URI. The end-user does not need to select any location to be able to launch the connector. For example, a connector that connects to a running application using COM APIs may not need any URI.
unspecified: a model reader that expects a URI unrecognized by MDWorkbench. The end-user must enter a non-empty String value to be able to launch the connector (not interpreted by MDWorkbench, given as is to the connector).

Examples

An external connector (connectors.xml file) that defines a model reader and writer for the UML 2.1 metamodel:

<?xml version=
"1.0"
?>
<connectors>
    <modelReader metamodel=
"uml21"
 name=
"My File Reader"
 uriType=
"file"
 class=
"com.mycompany.model.io.MyFileReader"
>
        <property name=
"onDemand"
 value=
"true"
/>
        <property name=
"details"
 value=
"full"
/>
        <fileExtension description=
"XML files"
 extension=
"xml"
/>
    </modelReader>
    <modelWriter metamodel=
"uml21"
 name=
"My COM Writer"
 uriType=
"noURI"
 class=
"com.mycompany.model.io.MyCOMWRiter"
/>
</connectors>

A connector embedded in a metamodel declaration (metamodels.xml file):

<?xml version=
"1.0"
?>
<metamodels>
    
<metamodel>
    TODO
    <modelReader metamodel=
"uml21"
 name=
"My File Reader"
 uriType=
"file"
 class=
"com.mycompany.model.io.MyFileReader"
>
        <property name=
"onDemand"
 value=
"true"
/>
        <property name=
"details"
 value=
"full"
/>
        <fileExtension description=
"XML files"
 extension=
"xml"
/>
    </modelReader>
    <modelWriter metamodel=
"uml21"
 name=
"My COM Writer"
 uriType=
"noURI"
 class=
"com.mycompany.model.io.MyCOMWRiter"
/>
</connectors>

Related tasks
Adding a model connector