CHAPTER 3 Assigning Metamodels

Select Add to assign a metamodel to the active SIMPROCESS model. Add displays a list of the metamodels in the metamodel directory that have not already been assigned to the active SIMPROCESS model. (The metamodel directory is in the SIMPROCESS installation directory.)

If the selected metamodel has errors, then an error message will appear and the metamodel will not be allowed to be assigned to the SIMPROCESS model. Note that if an assigned metamodel has Include data items, the metamodels referenced in the Include data items should not be assigned to the SIMPROCESS model unless one or more of those metamodels needs to be used in a stand alone capacity. (See "Defining a Data Item" on page 14 and "Include Data Item Properties" on page 21 for more information on the Include data item.)

Selecting an assigned metamodel in the Assign Metamodels dialog will cause the Edit button to enable. Clicking Edit will cause the SIMPROCESS Metamodel Editor to start (or open a new window if already started) with the selected metamodel open in the editor window. Note that if the selected metamodel was already open, that window should become the active window. This is not guaranteed, however, due to differences in system configurations. If the metamodel has been removed from the metamodel directory, an editor window will open with a new metamodel that has the same name. (See "SIMPROCESS Metamodel Editor," beginning on page 6 for information on the SIMPROCESS Metamodel Editor.)

If the Assign Metamodels dialog is still open when the metamodel being edited is closed, a check will be made to see if the latest saved date and time of the metamodel matches the saved date and time stored with the metadata. Reconciling the metamodel with the associated metadata may be necessary (see "Reconciling Metamodels," beginning on page 30).

Selecting an assigned metamodel in the Assign Metamodels dialog will cause the Remove button to enable. If no metadata associated with the selected metamodel has been added to the SIMPROCESS model, clicking Remove will remove the selected metamodel from the list, thus unassigning the metamodel from the SIMPROCESS model. If not already active, the Undo button will enable. If metadata has been added to the SIMPROCESS model a dialog will appear asking whether or not to remove all associated metadata. Selecting Yes will remove all associated metadata from the SIMPROCESS model. Selecting No will leave the metadata. See "Reconcile/Remove Button" on page 47 for the implications of leaving metadata in a SIMPROCESS model that is not associated with a metamodel.

The Undo button is active when one or more associated metamodels have been removed. Selecting Undo will restore the last metamodel that was removed. Thus, Undo restores metamodels in the opposite order from which they were removed. Note that if the associated metadata was removed when metamodel was removed, restoring the metamodel will also restore the associated metadata.

Every time a metamodel is saved, the date and time of the save is stored as part of the metamodel. When a metamodel is associated with a SIMPROCESS model and metadata is entered, the last save date and time of the metamodel is stored with the associated metadata. (See "Entering Metadata," beginning on page 34 for information on entering metadata.) When Assign Metamodel... is selected, a check is performed that compares the last saved date and time of the assigned metamodels with the stored date and time of the metadata in the SIMPROCESS model. If there is a match, the metamodel name displays in the Assign Metamodels dialog in black. However, if the dates and times do not match, then the metamodels for which there is not a match will display in red. The metamodel name will also display in red if the assigned metamodel file is no longer in the metamodel directory or if the assigned metamodel is no longer valid. (Note that metamodels created or edited with the SIMPROCESS Metamodel Editor should always be valid.)

· Removing metadata in which the type (String, Real, Integer, Boolean, URL, Single Selection, Multiple Selection, Include, or Group) no longer matches the type of the data item definition in the metamodel. If the type of the data item definition has changed from Integer to Real, the metadata is not removed and the type of the metadata is changed to Real.

· Removing metadata for an index value that is larger than the value of Max Occurs for the data item definition in the metamodel. For example, if Max Occurs was reduced from two to one, the second metadata occurrence would be removed. (See "Defining a Data Item," beginning on page 14 for information on Max Occurs.)

· Removing metadata for which the assigned SIMPROCESS Model Component does not match the SIMPROCESS Model Component selections of the data item definition in the metamodel. For example, if there is metadata at an Activity and the data item definition in the metamodel no longer has All or Activity selected, the metadata will be removed from the Activity. (See "Defining a Data Item," beginning on page 14 for information on SIMPROCESS Model Component selection.)

If the assigned metamodel is red because the metamodel file is not in the metamodel directory or the metamodel is not valid, Reconcile will function the same as Remove with the exception that Undo will not be available. Undo is not available for any Reconcile action. (See "Removing Metamodels," beginning on page 29 for information on Remove.)

Included metamodels are metamodels added to an existing metamodel by using the Include data item type (see "Defining a Data Item" on page 14). As with assigned metamodels, the last save date and time of an included metamodel is stored with the associated metadata. When Assign Metamodel... is selected, not only is a check performed that compares the last saved date and time of the assigned metamodels with the stored date and time of the metadata in the SIMPROCESS model, but the same check is also done for all included metamodels. Thus, the assigned metamodel's name will display in red if any included metamodels do not pass the check or if any included metamodels are missing or invalid. When the assigned metamodel is selected, multiple status messages may display in the Status area. In the example below, the assigned metamodel CorporateInformation and the included metamodel AddressModel both have a saved date and time that does not match the stored data and time.

The reconciliation process for included metamodels is the same as the reconciliation process for assigned metamodels. When Reconcile is clicked, all of the actions listed above in the Assigned Metamodels discussion are performed for included metamodels. Thus, Reconcile addresses all inconsistencies at the same time.