Really good Jazz.net article on the source control model

A picture paints a thousand words:
https://jazz.net/library/article/126#scm_diagram

Webinar: Driving quality from simulating system tests with Rational Rhapsody on 21 Aug 2018

I'm doing another IBM webinar next Tuesday, August 21st 2018. This is entitled "Driving quality from simulating system tests with Rational Rhapsody". The topic is around use of behavioural use case modelling to close the loop between requirements creation and test planning.

Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6781198774328470531

This webinar is hosted by IBM and part of IBM's Rhapsody enlightment series.

Rhapsody Tip #41 - Making the recent files list wider (Advanced)

Note: It sounds like a "yeh, yeh, sure" tip. However, create a back-up of your rhapsody.ini file before editing, as sometimes Rhapsody will try to write even though it looks as though it's closed down, hence you could end up corrupting it (which may mean that you lose your Gateway or TestConductor menus).

This IBM Rational Rhapsody tips and tricks video shows how to get Rhapsody to use more characters when displaying the Recent Files list in the File menu. The variable is called MaxDisplayLength and needs to be set in the [General] section of the .ini file. This was new in Rhapsody 8.3.1, hence you may have to upgrade for it to work. The value of the variable should be the number of characters that you want to have displayed. If you set MaxDisplayLength = -1, there is no limit on the width of the menu. Be careful though. Rhapsody writes to the .ini file. As with all manual .ini file changes be sure that Rhapsody is not running when you edit it!

The video also shows an example where I needed this to demo Rational Model Manager more effectively. When showing collaborative model management you often want to switch to different views of the same model owned by different users in different sandboxes. To choose the correct path using the Recent Files list I set the MaxDisplayLength variable.

Webinar: Tips and tricks for navigating IBM Rational Rhapsody UML and SysML models on 14 Aug 2018

As you're all on the beach somewhere for your holidays, I'm presenting some IBM Rational Rhapsody webinars. The first is a "Tips and tricks for navigating IBM Rational Rhapsody UML and SysML models" on August 14th 2018:

Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3174299257920804355

This webinar is hosted by IBM and part of IBM's Rhapsody enlightment series.

Rhapsody Tip #40 - Using context patterns to show a chain of elements in a table (Advanced)

I've reached video 40! This is an introduction to building table layouts with context patterns. Even simple tables in IBM Rational Rhapsody can be quite powerful. When we create a TableLayout, we can have each row represent a single element in the model, with each column displaying information about that element. We can also build relation tables, where the row represents a relationship between two elements. Alternatively, we can have a row in the table represent a hierarchy of elements in the model. To build a chain of elements as a table row, we can use a more advanced concept called a context pattern.

A context pattern is a comma-separated list of tokens. It is a way to describe a path of elements in the model. Each token in the pattern is a Rational Rhapsody metatype name that is either a core type or a term. This short video shows building a table that shows how blocks relate to safety goals which relate to hazards (new term types I've added to Rhapsody in a profile). The key tip is to know that to navigate to the end of a relation type you can put a colon (:). This, for example, allows us to traverse the relatesTo dependency to find the Hazard. The text in the curley brackets is a unique name for the context, weI can select the context in the Columns list for this. A couple of other options are also shown, such as collapsing the first column, changing the order, and using the Fill Defaults button. Enjoy!

Installation guide for IBM Rational Rhapsody 8.3.1

I've published my installation guide for IBM Rational Rhapsody 8.3.1 client.

This is provided as a pptx (because pictures paint a thousand words). As well as steps for installing it includes steps for checking that the Cygwin compiler is working, Rhapsody Gateway is installed and licensed, and that Webify is working.

Also included are:
- Downloading and installing a evaluation version of Rhapsody.
- How to obtain and install the 8.3.1 iFix 1 (for Jazz/am usage, aka Rhapsody Model Manager).
- Minimal choice for installing Cygwin gcc and make (unlike the Rhapsody help suggested choice).
- Installing SysMHelper sample profile (and advanced open source example of profile and for SysML / executable MBSE with an automotive slant).
- Tips on silent download.

The steps take the approach of installing all Editions and tailoring the rhapsody.ini afterwards (the approach most Rhapsody Application Engineers use).

Rhapsody Tip #39 - Nested states, the art of state-machine design (Intermediate)

Increasingly in my IBM Rational Rhapsody training I've been getting engineers to communicate with each other by drawing UML/SysML diagrams as a group exercise. Like with any natural language there is often more than one way to say the same thing. Knowing the best way is sometimes an art. The use of nested states is one such example. If you're building a state machine and I find I have many states reacting to the same event, then this little voice pops into my head which says "should I create a superstate?". Sometimes it's obvious whether a superstate is good, sometimes less so (that's the art). The key thing is that we do need to consider the readability of diagrams. We are, after all, using them to communicate. In this example I build a Rhapsody project from scratch with a simple state-machine that builds and executes and the user can interact with. I then show how the same behavior can be modeled in a different way by introducing a super state. Of course, knowing techniques like this also comes from experience. I like to think it also comes from training and the value of training is building people's confidence in using UML or the OMG Systems Modeling Language to communicate.