IBM Rational Data Architect Version 6.1.0.1 - Release notes

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1.0 About this release

IBM Rational Data Architect Version 6.1.0.1 contains enhancements and fixes to the version 6.1 release.

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1.1 New in this release

IBM Rational Data Architect Version 6.1.0.1 provides new function for the following components:

• Data model import and export
• Logical data modeling
• Logical-to-physical data model transformation
• Compare and synchronization and logical-to-physical data model transformation
  

Data model import and export

• Using the new Data Model Export and Data Model Import wizards, you can import and export logical and physical data models from Rational Data Architect to supported tools. The following data model formats are supported:

  • CA ERwin, Version 3.x (ERX format)
  • CA All Fusion ERwin Data Modeler, Version 4.x (ER1 format)
  • CA All Fusion ERwin Data Modeler, Version 4.x (XML format)
  • IBM^(R) Rational^(R) Data Architect (physical data models and logical data models)
  • IBM Rational Rose^(R), Version 4.0 (MDL format)
  • IBM Rational Rose Data Modeler (MDL format)
  • Sybase PowerDesigner (physical data models and conceptual data models)
  • Sybase PowerDesigner DataArchitect (physical data models and conceptual data models)

  To enable other import/export bridges, complete the following steps:

  1. Open the following file for edit: <RDA_installation_directory>\rda_prod\eclipse\plugins\com.ibm.datatools.metadata.wizards.miti.win32_1.0.0\MetaIntegration\conf\MIRModelBridges.xml
  2. Set the corresponding "enabled" attribute of the bridge that you want to enable to "true".

     The bridges that you enabled will appear in the Data Model Import and Data Model Export wizards.

  For more information on which bridges can be enabled, go to http://www.metaintegration.net/Products/MIMB/SupportedTools.html.

  Documentation for this new feature is installed in the information center when you install this fix pack. To view the documentation, click Help > Help Contents to open the information center, click Creating data models and click Importing and exporting data models. For additional information, go to http://www.metaintegration.net/

  Known issues:

  • When you install this feature through the product updater, the PATH value is not automatically set. In order to use this feature, you must manually update the PATH value to add the path to the import/export feature. For example, on Windows systems:
    1. Click Start > Control Panel.
    2. Open System.
    3. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
    4. Under System variables, select PATH and click Edit.
    5. Add the following path value, separated by a semicolon (;):

       <RDA_install_dir>\rda_prod\eclipse\plugins\com.ibm.datatools.metadata.wizards.miti.win32_1.0.0\MetaIntegration\bin

       where <RDA_install_dir> is the directory in which you installed Rational Data Architect.

  • On the Select the Options page of the Data Model Import wizard, you should only select pre-defined options when they are provided in the Options and Values grid. If you type in additional options, you might see an error message.

Logical data modeling

• The following logical data model data types have been added for DB2 UDB for z/OS:

  • binary - maps to CHAR FOR BIT in a physical data model
  • var binary - maps to VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA in a physical data model
• ROWID has been added as a base type.
• There is a new Abbreviation property for attributes and relationships.

  This new property can be viewed and modified on the General page of the Properties view for an attribute or a relationship. The property is used in the same way that the Abbreviation property for an entity is used. For example, the text that is in the Abbreviation field for an attribute is used as the physical name of the corresponding physical column upon transformation to physical, ignoring any associated glossaries.

Logical-to-physical data model transformation

• There is a new option in the Transform to Physical Data Model wizard to transform the Label field for tables and columns.
• Intersection tables generated for many-to-many relationships are now named ChildEntityName_x_ParentEntityName.

Compare and synchronization and logical-to-physical data model transformation

• The following enhancements were made to the compare editor for data objects:

  • Automatic alignment of primary key constraints and indexes

    When two physical tables are compared with each other, the primary key constraint under one table is now automatically aligned with the counterpart in the other table, if one is found.

    When two physical tables are compared with each other, an index under one table is now automatically aligned with the one under the other table if both indexes contain the same set of column names.

  • An empty string attribute value in the data model is treated as equivalent to a null attribute value.
  • The following two enhancements apply to the compare editor while you are transforming a logical data model into an existing physical data model.
    • A new Merge button appears next to the Copy button in the compare editor. You can use the Merge button to merge all newly added entities or attributes into the target physical data model at the top level.
    • For DB2 for z/OS logical-to-physical transformation, the compare editor is now filtered to only display relevant information. Information specific to the physical data implementation is not shown, and is therefore also not synchronized. The following example scenario illustrates how these changes work:
      1. Create a new logical data model that contains two entities.
      2. Transform the logical data model into a physical data model that targets DB2 for z/OS.
      3. Add several attributes to each entity in the logical data model.
      4. Add one table space to each transformed table inside the physical data model.
      5. Retransform the logical data model to the existing physical data model.

         The table spaces do not appear in the compare editor.

      6. Synchronize at the root level, then close the compare editor.

         The table spaces were preserved during the synchronization, and are still being referenced from each table in the physical data model. The columns were transformed from the new attributes and were added to each table.

      The following DB2 for z/OS objects are not synchronized:

      • Table space
      • Storage group
      • VCAT
      • Database
      • Index
      • Trigger

      You can customize this feature so that these objects are synchronized during retransformation. For example, to customize this feature so that triggers are synchronized:

      1. Open the following file for edit:

         <RDA_Installation_directory>\rda_prod\eclipse\plugin\com.ibm.datatools.transform.ui\plugin.xml

      2. Remove the following line from the file:

         <typeFiltering class = "org.eclipse.wst.rdb.internal.models.sql.tables.Trigger"/>

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1.2 Product fix history

This release contains fixes for version 6.1 problems in the following components.

• General
• Logical modeling or logical-to-physical model transformation
• Physical data modeling
• DDL generation and reverse engineering from DDL
• Compare editor
• ClearCase integration

General

The following problems have been fixed:

• IBM Tivoli License Manager (ITLM) cannot be enabled on Linux.
• An error occurs when you import or export preferences settings.

Logical data modeling, domain modeling, and logical-to-physical data model transformation

The following problems have been fixed:

• During logical-to-physical model transformation, some physical table and column name words are not replaced by defined abbreviations.
• A null pointer exception error occurs when you click on a relationship that does not have an owning subtype.
• Changing generalization properties, then clicking UNDO to reverse the changes, causes problems when the logical data model is transformed to a physical data model.
• A domain data type with a parenthesis in the name gets truncated in the Property view and fails to fransform to a physical data model.

Physical data modeling

The following problems have been fixed:

• Reverse engineering a physical data model from a DB2 DDL file results in no relationship lines between tables in the physical model. After you transform the physical model to a logical model, the relationship lines appear.

DDL generation and reverse engineering from DDL

The following problems have been fixed:

• The keyword REFERENCING appears twice in a CREATE TRIGGER statement. This keyword is allowed only once in DB2 UDB for z/OS V8 (New-Function Mode).
• There are missing relationships in the generated diagram after you reverse engineer from a DDL file.

Compare editor

The following problems have been fixed:

• Cannot merge foreign key properties.
• Foreign keys are aligned based on name, not content.

ClearCase integration

The following problems have been fixed:

• If something in the model is changed, and then the Enter key is pressed, the prompt to check out does not appear. After this error, RDA ClearCase integration does not work correctly for all other changes. In some cases, if no activity is predefined in ClearCase, it is possible to lose data.
• After performing a merge on a data model file that is stored in ClearCase, the model cannot be checked in.

Federation support

The following problems have been fixed:

• You can generate DDL scripts for the federated server from the Database Explorer . After you generate a script, you can deploy to like servers on DB2 Universal Database for Linux, UNIX, and Windows, DB2 Universal Database for iSeries, Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, web services, XML, and Sybase. To deploy the DDL scripts on any other data source, you must deploy them using the DB2 command line (run them as DB2 scripts). When you deploy, you might get a message saying that the wrapper already exists. If you see this error, then disconnect the database connection and reconnect.

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2.0 Installation information

• 2.1 Hardware and software requirements

• 2.2 Installation Overview

• 2.3 Installation Prerequisites

• 2.4 Installing the fix pack

• 2.5 Downloading the fix pack for local installations

• 2.6 Customer support
  

2.1 Hardware and software requirements

Hardware requirements

Disk space: 40 MB

Memory: 512 MB (1 GB recommended)

Software requirements

• Microsoft XP Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Standard Server
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Standard Server
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Enterprise Server
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (WS) 3.0
• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0

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2.5 Downloading the fix pack for local installations

You should install the fix pack directly from the IBM update server; however, it is also available for download. You might want to download and install the fix pack in the following situations:

• You have a slow or unstable Internet connection and want to use a download manager that can resume the download.
• You have difficulty accessing the live IBM update servers from behind a firewall.
• You prefer to download the fix pack and install it later.

To download and install the fix pack, complete the following steps:

1. Download the fix pack from ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/rationalsdp/rda/61/zips/rda_6101.zip.
2. Extract the fix pack to a temporary directory, such as C:\temp.
3. For installation instructions, navigate to C:\temp\rdafp1\ and open install_local_610.html.

2.6 Customer support

For product news, events, support, and other information, see the Rational Data Architect home page at http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/integration/rda/.

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