Model Import Options

There are two categories of import options for PHENOM: Import Checks/Fixes and Query Processing & Content Retention Options.

Import Checks/Fixes

Assert IDs

Property	Value
Option	Assert IDs
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Ensures that each imported entity has an identifier.

Details: The FACE Technical Standard requires every entity & association to have an identifier attribute to be a "valid" model. When enabled, this option ensures the identifier is added to the model as needed to satisfy the identifier requirement. NOTE: If an entity/association is a specialization, the identifier may not exist in the entity itself, but it must exist somewhere in the inheritance chain.

Fix paths not ending in Observable

Property	Value
Option	Fix paths not ending in Observable
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: If a path ends in an entity or association, this will find an attribute in the entity and terminate on that instead.

Details: Although allowed by the FACE Technical Standard, pointing to an entire entity (or association) limits model extensibility. This import option fixes your model by moving that endpoint from the entity to an attribute. Note: this only applies to FACE v2.1 models.

Fix View Characteristics w/o name

Property	Value
Option	Fix View Characteristics w/o name
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Ensures that each view characteristic has a name. When a name is not specified, it is taken from the corresponding platform attribute.

Details: The FACE Technical Standard allows the name to be omitted from a view attribute. When this is done and a name is needed (e.g., during data type generation), the names are used from the corresponding attribute in the entity model. This option makes the names explicit at the time of import. Note: this only applies to FACE v2.1 models.

Detect and reuse existing Shared Data Model

Property	Value
Option	Detect and reuse existing Shared Data Model
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Detects the SDM used by the model and adds it as a separate model.

Details: PHENOM manages a complete library of FACE Shared Data Models and is able to detect when a model uses of these SDMs. This option makes the SDM a separate model within the project so it can be updated and changed over time.

Unbounded CDM Mode

Property	Value
Option	Unbounded CDM Mode
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Applies PHENOM's recommended bounds to imports element if not explicitly specified.

Details: PHENOM best practices recommend bounds that differ from the defaults defined by the FACE Technical Standard. This will apply the PHENOM-recommended bounds - (0..*) for all composed attributes/participants and (0..*) for all participant source roles. NOTE: this will not overwrite existing bounds - this only applies the PHENOM-recommended values when no explicit bounds are set.

Query Processing & Content Retention Options

Process CDM Queries

Property	Value
Option	Process CDM Queries
Default	Unchecked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Process Conceptual Queries so they are retained on import.

Details: Phenom does not natively maintain conceptual queries. However, it can capture the projections encoded in those queries by turning them into views in which each of the query’s select clauses is turned into a field. The logical and platform attributes will be filled with placeholder values; updating these provides an easy way to realize the imported conceptual queries into exported logical and platform queries and templates.

Process LDM Queries

Property	Value
Option	Process LDM Queries
Default	Unchecked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Process Logical Queries so they are retained on import.

Details: Phenom does not natively maintain logical queries. However, it can capture the projections encoded in those queries by turning them into views in which each of the query’s select clauses is turned into a field. The platform attributes will be filled with placeholder values; updating these provides an easy way to realize the imported logical queries into exported platform queries and templates.

Retain Queries

Property	Value
Option	Retain Queries
Default	Unchecked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Preserves query nodes in their entirety for re-introduction into the model at time of export.

Details: Normally, PHENOM’s import discards queries and re-generates them upon export. This approach, however, fails to preserve the exact values stored in query element attributes, including the GUID, name, description, and specification. By choosing to retain queries, a user is able to re-introduce them upon export. This preserves the GUID, name, and description of the queries. Additionally, if the semantics of the related view were not changed by the user, the specification will also be preserved.

Retain Entity Models

Property	Value
Option	Retain Entity Models
Default	Unchecked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Retains all Logical and Platform Entities and Associations.

Details: Except in some special cases, the Logical and Platform entity models can be fully derived. The only downside is that this can change the values of the element's GUIDs. Typically, this only happens once when a model is imported into PHENOM. However, if it is necessary to retain the original entity model, this option should be selected. This should be used in conjunction with the corresponding Model Export Option.

Retain Auto Generated Content

Property	Value
Option	Retain Entity Models
Default	Unchecked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Preserves any automatically generated content PHENOM may have added during export.

Details: In some cases during model export, PHENOM may add some innocuous content to ensure the validity of the exported model. Such content is labeled as being auto-generated by PHENOM. When this option is selected, PHENOM will keep this content when importing the model. As an example of when this occurs, consider the case when a query joins though an entity but does not reference any of its attributes (this is a valid possibility). When this occurs, a corresponding platform entity is created, but it does not have any attributes and fails validity checks. In this case, PHENOM would add an attribute (typically an identifier) to ensure validity.

Apply Explicit Default Values

Property	Value
Option	Retain Queries
Default	Checked
Allowed values	Checked / Unchecked

Summary: Ensures default values are made explicit in the model.

Details: In a valid XML file, attributes values may not be serialized if they match the default value specified in its schema definition. This option ensures that all values (even those matching the default value) are explicit in the model.