MyEclipse :: View topic - How to access Model with Eclipse for Spring STS Edition

MyEclipse: How to access Model with Eclipse for Spring STS Edition

rdennisj - Nov 11, 2010 - 01:02 PM
Post subject: How to access Model with Eclipse for Spring STS Edition

I am using the latest Eclipse for Spring addition integrated with Spring STS, and I think it is outstanding! You truly provide access to a full range of customizability options. I do have some questions:
1. I cannot find a .ecore model that represents what is extracted from the scaffolding source choices (ie JPA, database, or Java Beans). Does such a model exist? If not, what does the JET transformation use as its input?
2. When scaffolding for Flex, where the model includes 2 tables with a one-to-many relationship, and running the generated Flex app: when I attempt to add a row to the 'many' (child) table, I am still prompted to enter the 'key' columns(s) that could be borrowed from the parent table entry. If I wanted to modify the way this code is generated, to automatically fill the 'join' columns for the child row (and disable them to prevent changes), is this a change I would make in the generator, or in the base model?
3. When adding a row to a table that contains a foreign key, does the model or generator offer the ability to generate a 'lookup' window to view a list of valid foreign key choices?

Once again, great work! I look forward to going into more detail with these new features.

davemeurer - Nov 11, 2010 - 03:04 PM
Post subject: Re: How to access Model with Eclipse for Spring STS Edition

Quote:

I am using the latest Eclipse for Spring addition integrated with Spring STS, and I think it is outstanding! You truly provide access to a full range of customizability options

Thank you for that comment! Providing options in STS was our primary goal and we are excited you are finding value with this integration.

Quote:

1. I cannot find a .ecore model that represents what is extracted from the scaffolding source choices (ie JPA, database, or Java Beans). Does such a model exist? If not, what does the JET transformation use as its input?

The JET transformation does use ecore models. If you are using the Spring DSL, you can see some representation of the ecore models in the files that represent the DSL visual artifacts. Open a DSL Artifact with a text or xml editor, and you'll see some of the metadata. If not using the DSL, the ecore models are used in the generation engine only. If you are interested in extending the ecore models, there are ways to do this though plug-in development. There is some documentation around this in the Skyway wiki on extending Skyway. However, what we've found more beneficial to users is an easier approach of customizing the templates. I don't know if you've seen this new feature, but here are some great resources that you may want to check out:
- 5min VIDEO on Customization
- Customization TUTORIAL

Simply create a new MyEclipse Customization project to get started.

Quote:

2. When scaffolding for Flex, where the model includes 2 tables with a one-to-many relationship...

There are a couple options. The generation should not expose any foreign keys, but it sounds like the primary keys on the children are part of the foreign key strategy, so if that's the case, either:
1. You can modify the flex_src mxml and action script files directly in the project, and then run the ant script in the build folder to compile the swf again. (If you don't have flash builder and setup the project as flex)
2. If this is a repeatable effort after every scaffold, then I would recommend using the Customization Project described in the answer above.

Quote:

3. When adding a row to a table that contains a foreign key, does the model or generator offer the ability to generate a 'lookup'...

Currently, the only Front End option that generates this ability is GWT. You may have noticed the picker fields in the Scaffolding wizard. These control the column headers when picking children in the GWT app. We do have feature requests documented to push the picker functionality to the rest of the UI choices, so I'll escalate this feature request based on your post.

Kind regards,
Dave