Customizing System Architect XT Web Pages

of 16 “Rational Support Whitepaper”

Generating Customized

Rational System Architect XT Website

(IBM Rational System Architect and IBM Rational System Architect XT)

G Kiran Kumar Singh


September 13, 2010

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 3

INSIGHT TO RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT AND SYSTEM ARCHITECT -

XT............................................................................................................. 4

RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT.......................................................................... 4

RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT XT (EXTENDED TEAM) .............................................. 4

INSTALLATION OF RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT .................................................... 5

INSTALLATION OF RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT XT ................................................ 5

SETTING UP INTEGRATION BETWEEN SA AND SA-XT................................................ 6

RATIONAL SYSTEM ARCHITECT XT CUSTOMIZATION ............................... 7

OVERALL STEPS TO CUSTOMIZE THE CONFIGURATION FILE......................................... 7

CUSTOMIZING REPORT GENERATED USING REPORT GENERATOR ................................... 8

CUSTOMIZING THE LINKS BOX ........................................................................ 11

CUSTOMIZING COMMERCIAL QUESTIONS PAGE ..................................................... 13

CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 15

REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 16


Introduction

This white paper starts with an insight into Rational System Architect and System

Architect-XT (SA-XT) and proceeds to provide instructions on setting up the

integration.

Further it explains how to customize SA - XT web pages to get customized reports

and its usage at different levels in an enterprise.

Based on what users need Enterprise Architecture can typically be classified into

two user groups:

Co-located enterprise architecture teams that need a solution to support:

Complex modeling

Simulation

Execution

and

Extended teams that require:

Architecture analysis

Custom reporting and

Lightweight modification in real time

The Rational System Architect XT and Rational System Architect solutions address

all aspects of an organization’s enterprise architecture from modeling to

publishing, analysis, and execution.

This white paper examines the strong support that System Architect-XT provides

to enhance the positives of web based application.

This white paper discusses various SA-XT customization options according to the

profile of every requirement and presents the architecture to users in sessions

configurable to their role and analysis needs.


Insight to Rational System Architect and System

Architect - XT

Rational System Architect

IBM Rational System Architect enables organizations to plan, control, streamline -

- and innovate. Drive better-informed decisions and deliver innovation your

customers demand with enterprise architecture solutions from IBM.

Rational System Architect XT (Extended Team)

IBM Rational System Architect XT is Web-based enterprise architecture (EA) and

business process reporting platform that works in conjunction with Rational

System Architect. These two solutions share a common repository, enabling

complete enterprise support for your actionable architecture. Because these

solutions work together, extended teams have assurances that the data they are

working with is accurate and current. The Rational System Architect XT and

Rational System Architect solutions address all aspects of an organization’s

enterprise architecture from modeling to publishing, analysis, and execution.

The Rational System Architect XT environment provides the extended team with

the analytical tools they need to:

Analyze and maintain the enterprise architecture repository in real time

through a Web-based interface

Leverage pre-defined templates to promote effective decision-making at all

levels of the organization

Personalize sessions for easy data access

Minimize user training and eliminate client installation (server installation

only)

Configure the user interface and navigation browser

Support existing System Architect repositories

Provide role-based access to control viewing and update usage


The IBM Rational System Architect XT environment enables an organization to

share its architecture across the enterprise. Subject matter experts and business

professionals can now view, in real time, their own specific architecture artifacts.

Where appropriate, users can update the architecture through a Web browser,

minimizing the need for enterprise-wide tool training and deployment. Because

Rational System Architect XT uses encrypted HTTP (HTTPS) and supports Unicode

characters, an organization can share its architecture over an intranet or the

Internet, helping to create a global decision support platform for extended teams.

Installation of Rational System Architect

Download the installer for Rational System Architect 11.3.1.1 using the link

below: http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

Click on the MSI to install

Get a valid license from the License Key Center:

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/rational/support/licensing/

Installation of Rational System Architect XT

Download the installer for Rational System Architect XT 11.3.1.1 using the link

below: http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

Click on Setup.exe to install

Get valid license from the License Key Center:


http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/


http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/



Setting up integration between SA and SA-XT

Rational System Architect XT (SA-XT) requires that the same version of Rational

System Architect (SA) be installed on a different computer on the network, as

shown in the figure below. The Rational System Architect XT installation also

installs Rational System Architect Catalog Manager. SA Catalog Manager can be

run from the Rational System Architect XT machine (A) or from the computer in

which standard Rational System Architect is installed (C).

Note: An alternate configuration to that shown above is to install Rational System

Architect XT (A) on the same computer as the SQL Server/Oracle database (B);

such a configuration yields optimum performance, but is not required.


Rational System Architect XT Customization

The following section talks about generic steps to be followed for Rational System

Architect XT customization. Also gives examples for customizing “Latest Additions

Box”, “Links Box” and “Commercial questions page”.

Overall Steps to Customize the Configuration File

The steps below provide a high-level view of the tasks you need to perform to

modify the default home page of your Rational System Architect XT website. You

can use these general techniques to modify the components listed in the Related

Links section at the bottom of this page.

1. Make a copy of a Configuration File present in the subfolder

<C>:\Program Files\Telelogic\Rational System Architect XT

Suite\SAXT\Pagefiles. You should save your custom Configuration Files to

the same subfolder above so your file(s) appear as options that you can

select from the Select page configuration file drop-down field.

2. Using your XML editor of choice, open your copy of the Configuration File.

3. Modify or create new components on the page (you can click on the links

to samples components at the bottom of this topic).

4. Save your Configuration File.

5. Launch and login to the Rational System Architect XT website, for example

http://<machinename>/saxt.


Customizing report generated using Report Generator

The Internal Reporting System of Rational System Architect offers a graphical

user interface to build your own reports, or modify existing ones.

The user interface enables you to navigate the Rational System Architect

metamodel, and build reports that are written in a SQL-based language.

Although the graphical user interface is easy to use, in order to write a

complicated report, some knowledge of the encyclopedia metamodel and

underlying semantic relationships is generally necessary.

Menu Option in Rational System Architect: Reports > Report Generator

Note: Rational System Architect Report Generator-Text Edit can be used to

customize the Rational System Architect XT Web Pages. Further in this document

we will understand as to where we can make use of the report generated and how

they can be reflected on SA-XT Web pages.


Customizing the Latest Additions Box in Home Page

The Latest Additions box is a grid style view of the latest objects added to the

encyclopedia. The information presented is gathered by a report that runs when

the home page is loaded. The Latest Additions box appears on the home page as

follows:

The code section below shows an example of adding a “Latest Addition Box” the

name of the new box being “Process Models”.

Note: The below mentioned code is edited in the file: Commercial.XML which can

be found in folder “<Install Directory>\SAXT\pagefiles”. Also you may add

multiple reports which will be displayed in the Rational System Architect XT Home

page)


<component name="Process Models" type="Report" class="boxSmall"

header="Process Models" style="width:335px;height:240px" allowedit="y"

limit="10">

<settings>

SETTING { DECIMALSEPARATOR "." }

SETTING { LISTSEPARATOR "," }

SETTING { MEASUREMENT English }

</settings>

<fields>

FIELD "Formatted Initial Date" { SOURCE PROPERTY "Initial

Date" LENGTH 10 TYPE DATE }

FIELD "Formatted Initial Time" { SOURCE PROPERTY "Initial

Time" LENGTH 10 TYPE TIME }

</fields>

<report>

SELECT "Name", "Type" ,"Audit"

WHERE Class = Diagram

WHERE "Type Number" = 142

ORDERBY "Name"

</report>

</component>


Customizing the Links Box

The Linksbox component contains button-style links. By default, all buttons

except Create my Own Question/Query target link to Page components within

pagegen.aspx. You can easily add your own buttons and have them link to either

hidden page components, or to entirely different pages.

The appearance and placement of the Links box component is defined by its class

name boxSmall left. On the home page, the Site Management box is to the right

of the Link Box. The class name is boxSmall right. The code shown below is an

example for adding a new link box by name “My custom Questions”.

Note: The below mentioned code is edited in the file: Commercial.XML which can

be found in folder “<Install Directory>\SAXT\pagefiles”)

<pages>

<page name="home">

<componentname="Link1"type="Link"class="boxSmall

left"style="height:150px"format="Button">

linktarget="pagegen.aspx?page=commercialquestions"label="COMMER

CIAL QUESTIONS"/>

<linktarget="pagegen.aspx?page=healthofarchitecturequestions"la

bel="HEALTH OF ARCHITECTURE"/>

<linktarget="query.aspx"label="CREATE MY OWN

QUESTION/QUERY"newpage="Y"/>

<linktarget="pagegen.aspx?page=browser"label="Rational System

Architect XT Browser"/>

</page>

</pages>


Customizing Commercial Questions Page

The Commercial Questions page is a component inside of the commercial.xml file.

It contains multiple questions, grouped by modeling domain, that are critical to

the enterprise. The defence.xml file has an equivalent component, named

Defence Questions, which is grouped by Operational, System and Technology

Views. Each question is basically a pre-written report that queries the

encyclopedia currently in view.

The inks in the Questions box send the reportfile, reportname, and stylesheet

values to the getpage.aspx file, which runs the report and displays the result in a

secondary window. The sample Questions box shown below, with the header label

'PROCESS' is from the Configuration File commercial.xml file.

The Snippet below shows a sample example for the same:

<page name="commercialquestions">

…………………………

<component name="Models for Managers" type="Link" class="boxLarge"

header="Organizational Models for Manager" format="Table"

newpage="Y">

<link

target="ip/getpage.aspx?reportfile=Enterprise_Questions&reportnam

e=Management Diagram&DDID=&stylesheet=/stylesheets/Linked

tables.xsl" label="Mgmt Diagrams"/>

</component>

...............................

</page>

The report for the above snippet must be placed in the report specified in the

above report file. (Enterprise_Questions.RPT). All the .RPT files are placed in the

location <C>:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\System Architect Suite\11.3.1\System

Architect\SAXT Publisher\Reports.


The screen below shows the snippet of the Enterprise_Questions.RPT file:


Conclusions

Tools like Rational System Architect and Rational System Architect XT have

proven successful in many different industries individually and as integration as

well. They complement each other’s capabilities.

With all the customizations in place, a complete Enterprise Architect Web Site can

be created.

A few other benefits gained through the customization are:

1. Avoid browsing through the normal tree structure in Explorer and reach

the frequently used diagrams/definitions in a quick/easier way.

2. Create a link to existing reports and get the refreshed data every time you

access the link.

Hence customization provides a great deal of user friendly WebPages to help use

the abilities of the tool to a better extent.


References

The following were used in references or as other sources of information

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/systemarchitect/

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/systemarchitect/xt/

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/systemarchitect/

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/systemarchitect/xt/

Customizing System Architect XT Web Pages

Technology

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