9th June, 2008: ARCSeeker Version 2.1 Build 033 released. 8th January, 2008: Uploaded ARCSeeker API Reference manual. You can download it from here.
Can you manage your UML models properly?
You can manage a lot of your UML models by the following 3 steps.
Store your UML model as a 'part'
Firstly, separate your UML models into small parts.
Add 'tags' to the part to search for the part in the future
Then, add various tags to distinguish from other parts. By adding meaningful tags, you can forget the parts.
Search and import the part when you need the part
By the tags and a lot of powerful searching features of ARCSeeker, you can easily find the parts which you want to use to another model.
If you manage a lot of your UML models as original 'EAP' files, it is difficult to search through them when you want to reuse your existing models. By separating the EAP files into small meaningful parts, you can manage, store and reuse the parts easily, effectively and efficiently!
ARCSeeker is your personal Database of your UML models. ARCSeeker strongly supports you to manage your UML models.
What are the advantages to use ARCSeeker?
Enterprise Architect has powerful feature to manage models by using the version control tools (ex. Subversion). Comparing the version control tools, you can have the following advantages:
You can know each model package by not only the XML file name, but also the model name, owner, description, etc.
When you store your model into ARCSeeker, ARCSeeker automatically checks dependencies between EA model packages and recommend you to store the dependent packages at the same time.
When you use the stored model in ARCSeeker, ARCSeeker automatically checks the target EAP file and if the EAP file does not have the dependent packages, ARCSeeker will recommend you to import the packages at the same time.
What is ARCSeeker?
ARCSeeker supports the reuse of Software Assets, particularly those created using Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect.
Software Assets include artifacts such as Software Architecture design documents or Source Files. Using ARCSeeker, you can create 'Components' from Enterprise Architect's UML models and various related files.
Additional information may be added for Components, as well as documentation files like Microsoft Word or Excel. These components can be easily identified and reused by your team members.
By storing your existing information with ARCSeeker, you can find and reuse your information effectively and efficiently.
ARCSeeker and OMG RAS(Reusable Asset Specification)
ARCSeeker is partly based on OMG RAS(Reusable Asset Specification). Currently ARCSeeker is not RAS-compliant. However, in the future, ARCSeeker will support reading/updating RAS-Component.
The format of ARCSeeker Components stored in ARCSeeker Storage(repository) is the same as the RAS-defined format (but currently the filename and extension are different), and schema of the ARCSeeker Component information is a subset of the RAS schema. You can see these facts by unzipping ARCSeeker Components or checking the ARCSeeker API. (You can download the ARCSeeker API reference manual from here.) In the near future, ARCSeeker can handle RAS-Components and users can select the style of stored Components.
