How to retrieve comments of entities with openAPI

Plug-in & Open API
1

Hello,

I am currently wiritng an API scripts which retrieves entities, columns, stereotypes and comments of a diagram but I am stuck in retrieving the comments of an entity (IDBTableUIModel). Could you please suggest how to do it.

The Entity has a “SQL Mapping” comment with a SQL in its description. That is the info I like to get

image

I could not find a method which gets the comments (IComment Array) of IModelElement

public class ERDAction implements VPActionController {
@Override
public void performAction(VPAction arg0) {
IProject project = ApplicationManager.instance().getProjectManager().getProject();
IDiagramUIModel[] diagrams = project.toDiagramArray();
if (diagrams != null) {
for (IDiagramUIModel diagram : diagrams) {
if (diagram instanceof IERDiagramUIModel && “AnyDiagram”.equals(diagram.getName())) {
IDiagramUIModelComment[] comments = diagram.toCommentArray();
if (comments != null) {
// Diagra comment is OK
for (IDiagramUIModelComment comment : comments) {
ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage(" ->COMMENTS…" + comment.getAuthor());

					}
				}
				-- Get Entities
				if (elements != null) {
					for (IDiagramElement element : elements) {

						IModelElement modElement = element.getModelElement();

						if (element instanceof IDBTableUIModel) {
						// Entitiy Found

							//Retrieve Table StereoType 
							ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	->Has StereoType:" + element.getModelElement().hasStereotype("coloumn1_"));
							ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	->Has StereoType:" + element.getModelElement().hasStereotype("test"));
							//Get all stereoTypes of entity
							IStereotype[] stereotypes = element.getModelElement().toStereotypeModelArray();
							if (stereotypes != null) {
								for (IStereotype stereotype : stereotypes) {
									ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	->got StereoType " + stereotype.getName() + " for table " + modElement.getName());
								}
							}
							
							
							// Get columns
							IModelElement[] tableElements = element.getModelElement().toChildArray();

							if (tableElements != null) {

								for (IModelElement tableelement : tableElements) {
									ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	-> table Element " + tableelement.getName());

								}
							}


						}
					}

Thanks for your gıidance is advance

Best Regards
seyhmus

2

Hi seyhmus,

Thank you for your inquiry. Your question has been forwarded to our engineers. I will let you know when there is any update.

Best regards,
Jick Yeung

3

Hi Seyhmus,

Since not all model types support the comments’ property, functions such as toCommentArray() etc… are not supported by IModelElement directly.

You may:

A. Cast your model element to IDBTable (model element of an ERD entity), which supports the functions:
public void addComment(IComment comment);
public void removeComment(IComment comment);
public IComment getCommentByIndex(int index);
public void removeCommentByIndex(int index);
public int commentCount();
public Iterator commentIterator();
public IComment[] toCommentArray();

B. Use:
IModelElement.getModelPropertyByName(IDBTable.PROP_COMMENTS) : IModelProperty
IModelProperty.getValueAsModelCollection() : IModelElement[] <----- this array contains the IComment

PS: the constants PROP_COMMENT is supported in any model type that supports comments property (e.g. IClass.PROP_COMMENTS).

Best regards,
Jick Yeung

1 Like
4

Hello Jick, Thanks a lot for quick solution. Both suggestions worked. This saved me a lot time :pray:

5

My pleasure. :slight_smile:

6

Hi Seyhmus, I’m facing the same issue like you before but I’m not a professional java programmer. So perhaps you can help me and post here the relevant coding lines or maybe the program? It would be a great help for me.
Best regards,
Dieter

7

Hello Dieter,

Below is the piece of code which retrieves the individual comments of an Entity, based on Jick’s suggested methods.

Hope it helps

public String performExport(IProject project, String lexportDir){
String outputFile =“”;
IDiagramUIModel diagrams = project.toDiagramArray();

    if (diagrams != null) {
        //Diagram
        for (IDiagramUIModel diagram : diagrams) {
            if (diagram instanceof IERDiagramUIModel) {

                this.addERDiagram(diagram.getName(),((diagram.getParentModel() == null) ? "" : diagram.getParentModel().getName()));

                ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("Diagram:" + diagram.getName());
                ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	-> getparent " +diagram.getName() + "-" +   ((diagram.getParentModel() == null) ? "" : diagram.getParentModel().getName()) );
                // Get Diagram Comments

                IDiagramUIModelComment[] comments = diagram.toCommentArray();
                if (comments != null) {
                    for (IDiagramUIModelComment comment : comments) {
                        ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage("	->COMMENTS..." + comment.getAuthor());

                    }
                }
                // table gezinme kısmı
                IDiagramElement[] elements = diagram.toDiagramElementArray();
                int i = 0;
                //Diagram Elements
                if (elements != null) {
                    for (IDiagramElement element : elements) {
  				    // PArse the Entity
                        parseTable(this,element);
                    }
                    ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage(diagram.getName() + ":" + ((IERDiagramUIModel) diagram).getDataModel());
                }
            }
        }
        //JSON: Creating the Gson object
        outputFile = this.OutputDiagram(lexportDir);

    }
    return outputFile;
}

public void parseTable(ERDOutput erd, IDiagramElement element) {
IModelElement modElement = element.getModelElement();

    // Tables
    if (element instanceof IDBTableUIModel) {
        IDBTable itab = (IDBTable) modElement;
        IModelProperty prop = modElement.getModelPropertyByName(IDBTable.PROP_COMMENTS);


        erd.addERDEntity(modElement.getName(), modElement.getDocumentation(), ((itab.getSchemaLookup() == null) ? "" : itab.getSchemaLookup().getName()), ((itab.getDomain() == null) ? "" : itab.getDomain().getName()));

        //Tablo Commentleri (ETL SQLleri burada olacak)
        IModelElement[] propElements = prop.getValueAsModelCollection();
        if (propElements != null) {

            for (IModelElement propElement : propElements) {
  		     //Here we have our comments of an Entity in ERD 
                erd.addERDEntityComments(propElement.getName(), propElement.getDescription());
            }
        }
  }

…
}

Comments of a column is retrieved with similiar approach:

public void parseColumn(ERDOutput erd, IDBTable itab) {
    IDBColumn[] columns = itab.toDBColumnArray();
    if (columns != null) {

        for (IDBColumn column : columns) {
            erd.addERDEntityColumns(column.getName(), column.getTypeInText(), column.getLength(), column.getDescription());
             IStereotype[] columnStereotypes = column.toStereotypeModelArray();
            if (columnStereotypes != null) {
                for (IStereotype columnStereotype : columnStereotypes) {
                    erd.addERDColumnStereotypes(columnStereotype.getName(), "");
                 }
            }
            //Column comments more than one
            IComment[] columnComments = column.toCommentArray();
            if (columnComments != null) {
                for (IComment columnComment : columnComments) {
                    erd.addERDColumnComments(columnComment.getName(), columnComment.getDocumentation());
                }
            }

Regards
seyhmus

8

Dear Seyhmus, thanks for help.
Best regards from Colombia
Dieter

9

Hi Dieter,
I’m glad that it helped. Please let me know if you need further help. Regards from Istanbul

mit freundlichen Gruessen :slight_smile:
seyhmus

10

Hi Seyhum, it seems you are very experienced in VP API Programming. And I’m just a beginner. Are you interested in a collaboration? If so you can answer me directly using dieter.goebel@leonsulting.com
Best regards from Colombia

11

Dear Seyhum, once again thanks for your help.
I modified your code in order to get the comments belonging to a specific model element, in this case an ArchiMateApplicationComponent:

public IComment[] exportapplicationComponentComments(IArchiMateApplicationComponent applicationComponent, String lexportDir){ // export comments belonging to a model element
String commentName = “”;
String commentAuthor = “”;
String commentDescription = “”;
IComment[] comments = applicationComponent.toCommentArray();
if (comments != null) {
//Diagram
for (IComment comment : comments) {
if (comments != null) {
commentDescription = comment.getDescription();
commentName = comment.getName();
commentAuthor = comment.getAuthor();
ApplicationManager.instance().getViewManager().showMessage(" ->COMMENTS…" + commentName);
}
}
}
return comments;
}