Entity Properties

To view or edit an entity's properties, double-click its diagram symbol or Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.

The General tab contains the following properties:

Property

Description

Name/Code/Comment

Identify the object. The name should clearly convey the object's purpose to non-technical users, while the code, which is used for generating code or scripts, may be abbreviated, and should not normally include spaces. You can optionally add a comment to provide more detailed information about the object. By default the code is generated from the name by applying the naming conventions specified in the model options. To decouple name-code synchronization, click to release the = button to the right of the Code field.

Stereotype

Extends the semantics of the object. You can enter a stereotype directly in this field, or add stereotypes to the list by specifying them in an extension file.

Number

Specifies the estimated number of occurrences in the physical database for the entity (the number of records).

Generate

Specifies that the entity will generate a table in a PDM. When modeling in the Barker notation (see Supported CDM/LDM Notations), only leaf subtypes can be generated as PDM tables, and so this option is disabled on Barker supertype property sheets.

Parent Entity

[read-only] Specifies the parent entity. Click the Properties tool at the right of the field to open the parent property sheet.

Keywords

Provide a way of loosely grouping objects through tagging. To enter multiple keywords, separate them with commas.

The following tabs are also available:

  • Attributes - lists the attributes associated with the entity (see Attributes (CDM/LDM)).

  • Identifiers - lists the attributes associated with the entity (see Identifiers (CDM/LDM)).

  • Rules - lists the business rules associated with the entity (see Business Rules (CDM/LDM/PDM)).

  • Subtypes – [Barker only] lists the subtypes that inherit from the entity.