Import Metamodel Packages
You may import the metamodel types you have defined and exported from another repository.
On import, the merge algorithm first compares attributes, then entities, then relationships.
There are a number of standard extensions to the basic metamodel provided with the product. You may import these from the installation path at /conf/Metamodel.
Attribute comparison
For each imported attribute, we try to find an attribute in the current metamodel with the same GUID, if we find one, that means we already imported it in the past, as a result we can safely update the current attribute with the imported one (we overwrite its properties like name, description, type). If we don't find a matching one by GUID, we try to find one by name.
If we find one, we check if is is similar. If yes, we dont import the attribute bu reuse the existing one. If no we create a new attribute but rename it to make its name unique.
If we don't find one, we create a new attribute with the characteristics of the imported one
Entity comparison
For each imported entity, we try to find an entity in the current metamodel with the same GUID, if we find one, that means we already imported it in the past, as a result we can safely update the current entity with the imported one (we overwrite its properties like name, description, icon,...). If we can't find a matching one by GUID, we try to find one by name.
If we find one we will import the entity with a name made unique, otherwise we will just import the new entity.
Relationship comparison:
For each imported relationship, we try to find a relationship in the current metamodel with the same GUID, if we find one, that means we already imported it in the past, as a result we can safely update the current relationship with the imported one (we overwrite its properties like source role name, description, destination role name, ...). If we can't find one, we create a new relationship with the characteristics of the imported one.
Logging
Issues with the import will be reported in the system log.
Steps
- Sign in as a user with at least the Application Administratorcapability global role assignment.
- Go to MANAGE> Metamodel in the banner.
- Click the More Actions icon and select Import.
- Browse to the file and click IMPORT.
If you cannot find the location using the Browse function you must configure (as part of the installation) the available paths to present to users. More details may be found in the deployment guide.
Example
Sign in as Administrator and go to MANAGE > Metamodel. Then click the More Actions icon and select Import. Browse to the file you exported earlier and click IMPORT.