CentraSite 10.7 | CentraSite User’s Guide | Type Management | Classification of Types
 
Classification of Types
CentraSite includes a set of types that are classified in the following categories:
*Predefined asset types
*Custom asset types
*Composite asset types
*Association types
Predefined Asset Types
CentraSite is installed with a number of predefined types. Some of these types are core types that belong to CentraSite itself. You can modify these types.
Other predefined types are installed to support the use of CentraSite by products such as the webMethods Product Suite. These types belong to other products, which expect the type definitions to remain unchanged. Modifying or deleting these types in CentraSite can lead to inconsistencies or errors in the product that uses the type. For example, if you modify or delete a type that is used by the webMethods Product Suite, components such as the webMethods Integration Server may no longer be able to publish assets to CentraSite. You must not modify these predefined asset types.
The following table identifies the predefined asset types that are installed with CentraSite and indicates to which product they belong.
Type Name
Owner
Alias
CentraSite
API-Key (Virtual type of Application)
CentraSite
API Gateway (Virtual type of Gateway)
CentraSite
API Portal (Virtual type of Gateway)
CentraSite
Application
CentraSite
Application Server
CentraSite
ApplinX Application
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX External Web Operation
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX External Web Service
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Flow Procedure
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Path Procedure
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Procedure Group
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Program Procedure
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Screen
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Screen Group
webMethods Product Suite
ApplinX Server
webMethods Product Suite
BPEL Partner
CentraSite
BPEL Partner Link
CentraSite
BPEL Partner Link Type
CentraSite
BPEL Process
CentraSite
BPEL Role
CentraSite
BPM Package (Virtual type of Package)
webMethods Product Suite
BPM Process Project
webMethods Product Suite
CAF Security Role
webMethods Product Suite
CAF Task Rule
webMethods Product Suite
CAF Task Type
webMethods Product Suite
Decision Entity
webMethods Product Suite
E-form
webMethods Product Suite
Endpoint Alias (Virtual type of Alias)
CentraSite
Event Type
CentraSite
Gateway
CentraSite
Gateway Application
CentraSite
Interface
CentraSite
IS Connection
webMethods Product Suite
IS Package
webMethods Product Suite
IS Routing Rule
webMethods Product Suite
IS Server
webMethods Product Suite
IS Service
webMethods Product Suite
IS Service Interface
webMethods Product Suite
IS Specification
webMethods Product Suite
IS Type Definition
webMethods Product Suite
JDBC Datasource
webMethods Product Suite
Mediator (Virtual type of Gateway)
CentraSite
OAuth2 Client (Virtual type of Application)
CentraSite
OData Service
CentraSite
Operation
CentraSite
Organization
CentraSite
Package
CentraSite
Portlet
webMethods Product Suite
Portlet Preference
webMethods Product Suite
Process
webMethods Product Suite
Process Pool
webMethods Product Suite
Process Step
webMethods Product Suite
Process Swimlane
webMethods Product Suite
REST Method (Virtual type of Operation)
CentraSite
REST Parameter
CentraSite
REST Payload
CentraSite
REST Resource
CentraSite
REST Service
CentraSite
REST Server
CentraSite
REST Link
CentraSite
REST Callback
CentraSite
REST Schema
CentraSite
REST Example
CentraSite
REST Media Type
CentraSite
REST Encoding
CentraSite
Rule Action
webMethods Product Suite
Rule Data Model
webMethods Product Suite
Rule Event Model
webMethods Product Suite
Rule Parameter
webMethods Product Suite
Rule Project
webMethods Product Suite
Rule Set
webMethods Product Suite
Scheduled Report
CentraSite
Secure Alias (Virtual type of Alias)
CentraSite
Service
CentraSite
Simple Alias (Virtual type of Alias)
CentraSite
SmartList (Virtual type of Package)
CentraSite
TN Document Type
webMethods Product Suite
TN Group
webMethods Product Suite
Transformation Alias
CentraSite
User
CentraSite
Virtual type OData Service (Virtual type of OData Service)
CentraSite
Virtual type REST Service (Virtual type of REST Service)
CentraSite
Virtual type Service (Virtual type of Service)
CentraSite
Virtual type XML Service (Virtual type of XML Service)
CentraSite
Web Application
webMethods Product Suite
Web Application Page
webMethods Product Suite
WS-Policy
CentraSite
XML Schema
CentraSite
XML Service
CentraSite
Predefined Virtual type Asset Types
Certain predefined types installed with CentraSite are classified as Virtual type types. A Virtual type type has the same set of attributes as its base type, but has its own set of profiles and properties, and adds its own behavior. A Virtual type type can also have its own lifecycle model and policies.
Virtual type types do not have a separate storage structure or a schema, so the instances of a Virtual type type are stored as regular assets. For example, a Virtual type Service asset inherits the same set of attributes as its base type, Service, and adds its own behavior, yet it is stored as a Service asset.
A Virtual type type inherits all of its attributes from its base type. Therefore, you cannot add attributes directly to a Virtual type type. To add new attributes to a Virtual type type, you add the attributes to the base type. You can selectively display these attributes on the profiles that you have defined in the type. Similarly, you cannot delete attributes from or edit the properties of attributes in the Virtual type type. All attribute creation, deletion, and definition is performed on the base type and those changes are applied to all of its Virtual type types.
A Virtual type type has its own set of Advanced Settings, which enables you to configure the following properties for a Virtual type type:
*Large and small icons
*Visible in asset browse
*Enable reports
*Policies can be applied
*Require consumer registration
*Enable versioning
*Top level type
*Enable lifecycle management
*Visible in search
*Inherit base type profiles
*Inherit base type policies
*Inherit base type LCMs
*Clone base type profiles
Additionally, the Virtual type type has an Inherit Base Type option, which determines whether the profiles, LCMs, and policies of the base type also apply to the Virtual type type. You can enable or disable this option for each Virtual type type.
Customizing Predefined Asset Types
Before using the predefined asset types in your environment, you should examine their type definitions and customize them as necessary.
With respect to customizing the predefined asset types installed with CentraSite, you can:
*Modify the asset type's existing properties and options (other than Schema Name, Namespace, and the Base Type (for Virtual type types only)).
Note:
Although CentraSite allows you to change the display name of the predefined types, Software AG recommends that you do not do this. Name changes may lead to problems with future upgrades of CentraSite.
*Add custom attributes to any asset type other than the predefined Virtual type types.
*Move certain attributes from one profile to another.
*Specify which profiles are to be displayed for the asset type.
*Change the type's system-property settings (for example, specify whether the type supports versioning or can be used with design/change-time policies)
*Add profiles, modify profiles, delete profiles, and rearrange the order of profiles within the asset type.
*You cannot delete any of the predefined attributes that belong to the type. You can, however, delete custom (that is, user-defined) attributes that belong to the type.
*You cannot modify the inherited profiles and attributes of the predefined Virtual type types.
Custom Asset Types
Besides customizing the predefined asset types that are installed with CentraSite, you can also define custom types of your own. For example, if you wanted to include items such as service requests, IT projects, and source code libraries in your registry, you would create a custom type for each of these entities.
Note:
Before creating a custom type, always check to see whether CentraSite provides a predefined type that you might be able to customize and use. Customizing one of CentraSite's predefined types will save you time, especially if the type requires a file importer.
Before creating a custom type, you must first decide which aspects of an entity you want to model in the registry. If you were creating a type to represent IT projects, for example, you might want to capture characteristics such as the name of the project requester, the lines of business the project is expected to affect, the project plan, the project manager and the project's expected completion date. After you decide which specific characteristics and qualities you want to model, you can create a custom type that includes a corresponding attribute for each of those characteristics or qualities.
Note:
A custom type that you add to CentraSite is treated as an asset type (that is, instances of that type are treated as assets).
Composite Asset Types
Certain assets can be stored in CentraSite as a set of related registry objects. Such assets are called composite assets. For example, if a web service provides several operations, this is stored in CentraSite as a composite asset consisting of the Service asset plus a separate Operation object for each of the web service's operations.
The objects that are constituents of a composite asset are referred to as components. In a composite asset there is a root component and one or more sub-components that are related to the root component. In the above example, the Service asset is the root component and the Operation objects are the sub-components. A sub-component of a composite asset can itself be a composite asset.
Depending on the relationships defined, registry operations (such as deleting an asset or exporting an asset) performed on a component of a composite asset can cause the same operation to be performed automatically on other components of the composite asset.
The concept of relationships between different objects in a SOA environment follows the UML idea of association relationships. This is only one of several forms of relationship supported by UML, but most SOA Registry Repositories only offer this form. CentraSite extends this scope to provide aggregation and composition relationships in addition to the existing association relationships. Each of these relationship forms provides its own semantics that affect specific operations that can be performed on composite assets.
You can define composite assets for all asset types, including custom (that is, user-defined) asset types.
Association Types
An association type describes a type of relationship that can exist between objects in the registry.
An association type has a name, a forward label (which describes the relationship of the source object to a target object) and an optional reverse label (which describes the relationship of the target object to the source object).
You use association types to define Relationship attributes in an asset type. In the following example, a Relationship attribute called Managed By has been included in the Project asset type to associate a project asset with the user that manages the project.
You Use Association Types to Define Relationship Attributes in Object Types
When users publish assets to the registry, there are two ways in which they can relate an asset with other objects in the registry.
*By establishing the relationship using an asset's Relationship attributes. If an asset's type includes one or more Relationship attributes, users can relate an asset to other objects in the registry by simply setting these attributes.
*By establishing an ad-hoc association using the asset's Associations profile. If an asset's type includes the Associations profile, users can relate assets of that type with other objects on an ad hoc basis. Using this profile, users can relate an asset to Virtual type and any other object in the registry (assuming they have View permission on the target object).
When you include Relationship attributes in an asset type, you not only enable users to specify the objects to which an asset is related, you enable the relationships to be discovered and reported by the Asset Navigator feature.
Like asset types, association types are system-wide objects. They apply to all organizations defined in the registry (that is, all organizations within an instance of CentraSite have access to the same global set of association types). You cannot restrict the use of an association type to a specific organization.