Generating reports by using the internal reporting system
The Reporting System offers a graphical user interface to build your own reports, or modify existing ones. The user interface enables you to navigate System Architect’s metamodel, and build reports that are written in a SQL-based language.
The internal reporting system uses a SQL-based language to query the underlying repository and publish information about your models. There are over 130 pre- written reports provided with the product, in a number of report files (.rpt extension), housed within the Reports subdirectory of the System Architect program.
1 With the Samples encyclopedia opened, select Reports > Report Generator to open the Reports dialog box.
You are looking at the reports contained only in the reports.rpt file: these are fairly standard, generic reports.
2 Select File > Open Report File from the Reports dialog.
The System Architect Reports directory opens.
Each report file contains one or more reports on aspects of modeling with System Architect. For example, ERmatrix.rpt provides matrix reports on data modeling with Entity Relation diagrams.
3 Select the uml.rpt file, and then click Open.
This report file contains reports on diagrams and definitions of Unified Modeling Language models.
4 Select the Use Case Diagrams – Use Cases and Steps report, and then click Generate.
System Architect displays a draft of the report, which show classes in the project encyclopedia and methods that they contain, in a matrix.
The draft of a report is unformatted. Printing this report to a printer provides better formatting.
5 Close the draft.
6 To view the SQL-based language of the report, return to the Reports dialog box. Select the Use Case Diagrams – Use Case and Steps report again, and then click Report > Text Edit Report.
7 Notice the SQL language and the use of Join statements. This report selects a diagram of type “Use Case”, and then finds symbols of type “Use Case” symbols. This report that walks a bit of System Architect’s metamodel. To look at the metamodel, search the online help for “metamodel”. It is important, as you build reports, to use this metamodel as a guide.