[postgis-users] UML Profile using PostGIS geometry types andSQL-MMtopology functions

Fri Nov 9 06:25:50 PST 2007

Norman:

Thanks for all the usefull advices concerning possible implementations
to follow in my tool development.
The UML Profile I intend to develop is just a piece of the whole
process, but an important one. I believe a good profile for spatial
features is required to get UML to (spatial) database transformations,
and currently EA has none.
Also, the current schema transformation templates do not take into
account the processing of OCL constraints. Even the XMI generated from
the UML tool does not have it in the UML2 namespace, just in its own
extended namespace (in the EA case, at least).
There is also the possibility to specify queries (most will be
validation ones) from the model itself.

I agree the full potential of such a tool could only be unleashed if
there will be an object model generated in between. I am currently
considering using the Eclipse EMF for that purpose, namely because it
offers UML and also OCL parsing in an Open Source environment.
Hibernate came into consideration just recently (I am a newbie
concerning Java technologies; was used to the MS platform :-) ), just
got a copy of the "Java Persistence with Hibernate". From a first look,
it seams it has indeed a lot of features, in fact it could supply much
of the functionality I have in mind.

Returning to the UML Profile for PostGIS geometry types, I am not being
able to get a full description of the methods which apply to each
geometry type, at least in the same way they are expressed on the Simple
Features Access or the SQL/MM standards. Is there any document on these
matters?

Consideration of PostGIS specific geometry types, constraints and
methods would make this a "UML PostGIS Profile", and not anymore a
generic SQL/MM Profile, but this serves well my immediate research
objectives.

Joao

________________________________

From: postgis-users-bounces at postgis.refractions.net
[mailto:postgis-users-bounces at postgis.refractions.net] On Behalf Of
Norman Barker
Sent: donderdag 8 november 2007 21:19
To: PostGIS Users Discussion
Subject: RE: [postgis-users] UML Profile using PostGIS geometry types
andSQL-MMtopology functions

Hi,

I am not sure that UML to database is going to achieve that much in
terms of mapping, but certainly UML to object (so ejb3 or geodjango)
and hence database might be interesting.  To this end hibernate tools is
useful (and generates schematics) and just changing the free marker
templates allows geometry mappings.

Most of the work in this area has been in UML to xml schema mapping, and
to this end the models (including EA Architect) from
http://www.isotc211.org/ might be of use.

If I were doing this work, then the tool I would use would be the new
eclipse UML tools, just because these are publicly available to
everyone, and the XMI they output would be useful in a lot of projects.

ERD tools such as dbdesigner for mysql already support spatial
functions, hence why I am struggling to see the benefit of your approach
- can you explain some more?

Thanks,

Norman

________________________________

From: postgis-users-bounces at postgis.refractions.net
[mailto:postgis-users-bounces at postgis.refractions.net] On Behalf Of
Fonseca Hespanha de Oliveira, Joao da
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:12 AM
To: postgis-users at postgis.refractions.net
Subject: [postgis-users] UML Profile using PostGIS geometry types and
SQL-MMtopology functions

Hello all! 

As part of my current PhD research, I am trying to specify a new UML
Profile to apply to UML Class diagrams representing spatial features,
that is, using geometry types. 

I am using PostgreSQL's PostGIS extension as reference for the actual
geometry types, but I think it could be applied to any spatial database
system which complies to the Simple Features Access for SQL
specification. 

Currently, also geometry types from SQL/MM ISO/IEC standard are also
being supported by such databases, and at least some will be added to
the Profile. 

I would like to receive any suggestions this forum members might have, I
am currently using Enterprise Architect (EA) as UML Modeling Tool and I
plan to present (attach) PDF files with the class diagrams and the final
Profile. Maybe the profile could be added to the EA add ons later on,
otherwise it could be transposed to other UML Tools.

If somebody has a suggestion on any other way to interact, with or
without EA software, ideas are also most welcome. 

The final aim of this research component is to define a CASE tool which
can use a UML model with the mentioned profile to generate a PostGIS
schema through an automatic generated SQL script (a process generally
known as Model-to-Text transformation).

Looking forward to hear from you, 
Joao Paulo Hespanha 
PhD Student, OTB Research Institute, 
TUDelft 
The Netherlands

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