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CentraSite provides a wizard for defining new types. When creating a new type, keep the following points in mind:

• A type has two names: a display name and a schema name.

  • The display name is the name that CentraSite uses when it refers to the type in the user interface. (This is the name that appears in the catalog browser, for example.) The display name can contain any character, including spaces.

  • The schema name is the name that is given to the underlying schema that contains the type definition. The schema name must conform to the naming requirements for an NCName data type, which does not permit names with spaces or most special characters.

  By default, CentraSite derives the schema name from the display name that you specify for the type. If your display name includes special characters, then you must explicitly specify a schema name that is NCName conformant in the type's Advanced Settings dialog box.

• If you intend to include a Classification attribute in your custom type, make sure that the corresponding taxonomy exists before you begin creating the new type. To add a Classification attribute to a type, you must specify the taxonomy with which the attribute is associated. You cannot do this unless the taxonomy already exists in CentraSite. For information about creating taxonomies, see the document Taxonomies.

• If you intend to include a Relationship attribute in your custom type, make sure that the corresponding association type exists before you begin creating the new type. To add a Relationship attribute to a type, you must specify the type of association that the attribute represents. You cannot do this unless the association type is already defined CentraSite. For information about defining association types, see Working with Association Types.

The following sections describe how to create a new type.

• Creating the New Type

• Defining Attributes for a Type

• Defining Profiles for an Asset Type

Creating the New Type

Use the following instructions to create a new type:

To create a new type

1. In CentraSite Control, go to Administration > Types.

2. On the Types tab, click Add Asset Type to open the Add Asset Type wizard.

3. In panel 1, complete the following fields:

   In this field...	Do the following...
   Name	Enter a display name for the type. Choose a name that your users will recognize and understand. For example, use "BPEL Process Document", not "bpdoc". The name you assign to the asset type can contain any character, including spaces. However, if you specify a name that does not conform to the NCName type, you must click the Advanced Settings button and specify a name that is NCName conformant in the Schema Name field. For NCName requirements, see the Schema Name field description in the next step. Note: If the name that you assign to the asset type is NCName conformant, except that is includes spaces, it is not necessary to explicitly specify the type's schema name. CentraSite automatically replaces space characters with the _ character when it generates the schema name for an asset type.
   Description	Optional. Enter a brief description of the type.

4. Click Advanced Settings and complete the following steps as necessary.

   1. Verify that the schema name and the namespace name that were generated by CentraSite are valid.

      In this field...	Do the following...
      Schema Name	Verify that the schema name that CentraSite generated for this asset type is NCName conformant. CentraSite automatically populates this field with a name that is derived from the asset type name that you specified in the previous step. For example, if your asset type name is "My Asset Name", CentraSite automatically populates this field with "My_Asset_Name". If the schema name generated by CentraSite does not meet the following criteria, you must specify a name that does. The name must begin with a letter or the underscore character (_). The remainder of the name can contain any combination of letters, digits, or the following characters: . - _ (i.e., period, dash, or underscore). It can also contain combining characters and extender characters (e.g., diacriticals). The name cannot contain any spaces. Additionally, the type's fully qualified schema name must be unique among all types in the registry. See Namespace, below. For more information about the NCName type, see http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-2/#NCName. Note: You cannot change the schema name after the type is created.
      Namespace	Modify the namespace that CentraSite has proposed for the type if necessary. By default, CentraSite generates the namespace in the following form: http://namespaces.OrganizationName.com/Schema Where, OrganizationName is the name of your organization. The Namespace value is used to qualify the name specified in Schema Name. Together, the Schema Name and Namespace values produce the type's fully qualified name. This name must be unique within the registry. You generally do not need to modify the namespace that CentraSite proposes for a type. In most cases, the proposed namespace will be adequate. However, you might modify the namespace if you want it to include the name of a different organization or if you need to resolve a naming conflict between this type and an existing type. Note: You cannot change the namespace value after the type is created.

   2. If you want to use a custom icon to represent this type in the user interface, upload large and small versions of the icon as described below.

      Note:
      If you do not specify a custom icon, CentraSite assigns the default icon to the type.

      In this field...	Do the following...
      Large Icon	Optional. Specify the large icon that is to be used to represent this type. CentraSite Control uses this icon when it displays the details for an instance of the type. If you want to use a custom icon, click the Browse button and upload the file containing the large version of the icon to CentraSite. The icon must be in GIF format. To ensure proper alignment when it is displayed in the user interface, the icon must be 64 x 64 pixels in size.
      Small Icon	Optional. Specify the small icon that is to be used to represent this type. CentraSite Control displays this icon when instances of the type appear in lists or summary tables. If you want to use a custom icon, click the Browse button and upload the file containing the small version of the icon to CentraSite. The icon must be in GIF format. To ensure proper alignment when it is displayed in the user interface, the icon must be 16 x 16 pixels in size.

   3. Specify the type's advanced options as follows:

      Enable this option...	To...
      Visible in Asset Browse	Allow instances of this type to be displayed in the catalog browser. When you enable this option, CentraSite Control includes the type in the Asset Types pane on the Asset Catalog > Browse page. When you disable this option, CentraSite Control omits the type from the Asset Types pane so users cannot browse for instances of the type.
      Enable reports	Allow reports to be generated against instances of this type.
      Policies can be applied	Allow user-defined design/change-time policies to be created and enforced for instances of this type. Note: If you disable this option, CentraSite will not apply any user-defined design/change-time polices to instances of the type, even in cases where the policy is designed to execute against all asset types. Note: This option does not apply to system policies. CentraSite will apply system policies to instances of the type whether this option is enabled or not.
      Require Consumer Registration	Require users to register an application when they submit consumer registration requests for assets of this type.
      Enable versioning	Allow users to generate versions of instances of this type. When you disable this option, CentraSite disables the Add New Versions command and omits the Versions profile from instances of this type.
      Top Level type	Allow users to create instances of this asset type "from scratch." When you enable this option, users are allowed to create instances of the type using the Add Asset button in CentraSite Control. Generally you disable this option for types that are constituents of other assets, or for types that are only meant to be added to the registry by an importer. For example, the Operation type is used to represent an operation that belongs to a Web service. Operations are derived automatically from the service WSDL. They are not intended to be manually defined by users. Therefore, the Operation type is not designated as a "top level type".
      Enable Lifecycle Management	Allow a lifecycle model to be applied to assets of this type.
      Visible in Search	Allow users to define a search for this particular type. When you enable this option, CentraSite Control includes the type in the Types list on the Advanced Search page. Including a type in this list enables users to define queries that select on that specific type. Note: If you change the state of this option and then do an advanced search, you might need to refresh the Advanced Search page in order to see the change reflected in the Types list.
      Inherit Base Type Profiles	For virtual types only. Apply the set of profiles that are defined for the virtual object type and/or the set of profiles that are defined for the base type.
      Inherit Base Type Policies	For virtual types only. Apply the set of policies that are defined for the virtual object type and/or the set of policies that are defined for the base type.
      Inherit Base Type LCM	For virtual types only. Apply the lifecycle model defined for the base type if the virtual object type does not have an assigned lifecycle model.

   4. Click OK.

5. In panel 2, specify the attributes that make up the type. If you need procedures for this step, see Defining Attributes for a Type.

6. In panel 3, define profiles for the type and assign attributes to them. If you need procedures for this step, see Defining Profiles for an Asset Type.

7. In panel 4, specify which of the generic profiles you want to include with the type. For more information about generic profiles, see Generic Profiles.

8. In panel 5, specify the order in which you want the profiles to appear when they are displayed in the user interface.

9. Click Finish to save the new type.

Defining Attributes for a Type

• General Procedure

• Defining a Computed Attribute

General Procedure

Use the following steps to complete panel 2 in the Add Asset Type or Edit Asset Type wizard. You use this panel to define the set of attributes that make up the asset type.

Using the Dialog

To define attributes for an asset type

1. Go to panel 2 in the Add Asset Type wizard (if you are creating a new type) or the Edit Asset Type wizard (if you are modifying an existing type). If you need procedures for this step, see Creating a New Type or Viewing or Editing a Type, respectively.

2. To add a new attribute to the type, click Add Attribute.

   Complete the following fields in the Add Attribute dialog box:

   In this field...	Specify...
   Name	The display name for the attribute. This is the attribute name that users will see when they view instances of this type in the user interface, therefore, the name should be meaningful. The display name can contain any combination of characters, including spaces. You can change an attribute's display name at any time. Note: If you are defining a Relationship attribute, by default the attribute's name will be derived from the name of the association type that you assign to the attribute. You can, however, assign a custom name to the Relationship attribute by specifying the Name attribute.
   Schema Name	The schema name for the attribute. The schema name is the internal name that CentraSite assigns to the attribute. This name can contain only letters, numbers and the underscore character (_). If you do not enter a schema name, CentraSite automatically generates a schema name for the attribute based on the name you enter in the Name field. However, if the name that CentraSite generates includes invalid characters, you will be prompted to provide a valid schema name when you save the attribute. For information about valid schema names, see Attribute Names. After you create and save the attribute, you can no longer change its schema name. Note: Relationship, File, and Classification attributes do not require schema names.
   Description	Optional. A brief description for the attribute.
   Required	Whether the attribute is required or optional. When you enable this option, CentraSite prevents users from saving an asset of this type without first assigning a value to this attribute. In the user interface, a required attribute is displayed with an asterisk (*) next to its name. Note: An attribute can be a required attribute and have a default value (see the Default field below). If you do not supply a value for an attribute that is required and has a default value, the default value is automatically assigned to this attribute. When editing an existing type: If there are no instances of the type in the registry, you can add a required attribute to an existing type. If there are instances of the type in the registry, you can add a required attribute of type "slot" or "classification", but not of type "relationship" or "file". If you add a new required attribute, no automatic update of existing instances takes place. This prevents the potential degradation of performance that could arise from the automatic update of a large number of instances. You can enable the Required option for an existing attribute even if there are empty instances of the attribute. But in this case a default value must be provided for the attribute. You can disable the Required option for an attribute at any time (even if assigned instances of the attribute already exist in the registry). See also the description of the Default field below for details of default value processing of required fields.
   Read-only	Whether users can modify the value of the attribute. The Read-only option prevents the attribute's value from being changed after an asset is created. When you enable this option, users can assign a value to the attribute when an asset of this type is initially created. However, they cannot modify the attribute after the asset has been saved. You can enable or disable the Read-only option for an attribute at any time (even if instances of the type already exist in the registry).
   Multiplicity	Whether the attribute can hold a just a single value or multiple values (i.e., an array of values). Enabling the Multi Value option allows users to assign more than one value to the attribute. Note: The Multiplicity option is not available for the Boolean attribute type. When editing an existing asset type: You can switch an attribute's Multiplicity option from Single Value to Multi Value at any time (even if instances of the type already exist in the registry). You can switch an attribute's Multiplicity option from Multi Value to Single Value only if: No instances of the type exist in the registry. —OR— Instances of the type exist in the registry, but each instance has at most one value assigned to this attribute. (i.e., no instances exist wherein this attribute has multiple values).
   Data Type	The attribute's type. Be aware that after you create an attribute, you cannot change its type. Depending on the data type you select, additional type-specific fields or checkboxes now appear in the dialog. Provide the appropriate information for these additional fields or checkboxes. See the section Defining Data Types below for details.
   Default Value	Optional. The value that is to be assigned to the attribute by default. Note: The Default Value option is not available for all attribute types. When editing an existing asset type: You can change a default value, assign a default value, or remove a default value from an attribute at any time. Changing the attribute's default value does not immediately affect any existing instances of the attribute. If you add a default value to an attribute that did not previously have one, and the registry contains empty instances of that attribute, the default value will be assigned to those assets the next time that they are saved to the registry. If you add a new attribute to an existing type and you assign a default value to that attribute, the default value will be assigned to the existing instances of that type the next time those instances are saved to the registry. If the attribute has the Required option set, then the following conditions apply: When you create a new asset type with one or more required attributes, you do not need to provide a default value for these attributes during the creation process. If instances of an asset type exist, and you update the type definition in any manner, regardless of whether you edit the required attributes or not (for example, adding a new optional attribute, adding a new required attribute, or even editing the type name), you must provide a default value for each required attribute of that type. Required attributes that have no value will be set to the default value the next time the instance is saved to the registry. If instances with missing required attributes are viewed in CentraSite Control, these attributes are simulated and displayed with the default value. But the default value will not be added to the instance until the next save of the instance. See also the description of the Required field above for details of default value processing of required fields.

   For the Data Type field, complete the type-specific options as described in the section Defining Data Types below.

   Click OK to save the attribute.

3. Repeat step 2 for each attribute that you want to add to the asset type.

4. If you need to edit an attribute that you have added to the asset type, click the name of the attribute in panel 2 and make your changes in the Edit Attribute dialog box. Be aware that certain options for an attribute cannot be changed after the attribute is created. For information about the conditions under which an attribute's options can be changed, see the descriptions of the options in step 2, above.

5. If you need to delete an attribute, select the attribute in panel 2 and click Delete.

   Important:
   CentraSite will not allow you to delete an attribute if an assigned instance of the attribute is present in the registry.

Defining Data Types

For the Data Type field, complete the type-specific options as described below:

Defining a Computed Attribute

The computed attribute is defined as the implementation of the ComputedAttribute interface. The following topics describe how to define a computed attribute:

• Implementation guidelines for Java-based computed attributes
• Structure of archive file
• Sample code
• Loading a computed attribute into an asset type definition

Implementation guidelines for Java-based computed attributes

This section describes the Java interfaces and methods that you need to implement for a computed attribute.

Structure of archive file

The archive file must contain the following folders and files:

com.softwareag.centrasite.computed.attr.impl.class=com.sample.StringAttrImpl

Sample code

Sample Java code for implementing a computed attribute is supplied in the demos folder under CentraSite installation folder. The sample code is available in the files:

• ComputedAttribute.java

• ProfileAttribute.java

• AttributeDescriptor.java

Loading a computed attribute into an asset type definition

After you have created an archive file that contains the attribute definition, you need to load the archive file into the asset type definition. You do this by starting the Edit Asset Type wizard for the appropriate existing asset type, or the Add Asset Type wizard for a new custom asset type, and specifying in the wizard that you are defining a new computed attribute.

For details on how to load the archive file of a computed attribute into an asset type definition, refer to the section Defining Attributes for a Type.

When you have loaded the archive file, the new attribute is displayed in the list of attributes that can be assigned to an asset type profile.

Defining Profiles for an Asset Type

• General Procedure

• Defining a Computed Profile

• Applying Profiles to Virtual Types

General Procedure

Use the following procedure to complete panel 3 in the Add Asset Type or Edit Asset Type wizard. You use this panel to define profiles and their attributes.

You can add a profile in two ways:

• Manually, using the asset type's available attributes.
  To define a profile manually, you select attributes from the list of available attributes and assign them to the profile.

• Using a Java plug-in that contains a computed profile.
  A computed profile is a user-defined profile that is implemented as a Java plug-in. You add the computed profile to the asset type by importing the computed profile's definition from an archive file. The plug-in specifies the attributes that are contained in the profile. The plug-in also has the sole responsibility for rendering the layout representation within the profile. After a computed profile has been defined for an asset type, the computed profile is treated in the same way as any other profile; for example, permissions for computed profiles can be granted in the same way as for standard profiles, and the ordering of profiles within a type definition is the same for computed profiles as for standard profiles.

To add a profile to the asset type

1. Go to panel 3 in the Add Asset Type wizard (if you are creating a new type) or the Edit Asset Type wizard (if you are modifying an existing type). If you need procedures for this step, see Creating a New Type or Viewing or Editing a Type, respectively.

2. To add a new profile to the type, click Add Profile and perform the following steps.

   1. In the Profile Name field, enter a name for the profile. This is the name that users will see in the user interface when they view an asset of this type. Therefore, the name you assign should be meaningful to your users (for example, "Technical Notes", not "tn").

      Note:
      You cannot give a profile the same name as any of the generic profiles described in Generic Profiles.

   2. If the profile you wish to add is a computed profile, mark the checkbox Computed Profile and select the implementation language from the drop-down list. If, for example, you have implemented the computed profile using Java, then select Java.

      When you mark the checkbox, the dialog's list of available attributes is replaced by the input field Profile Implementation Archive. In this field, specify the name of the archive file that contains the definition of the computed profile, then click OK.

      See the section Defining a Computed Profile below for information on how to implement a computed profile.

      Note:
      If you define a profile as a computed profile, you cannot change the profile back to being a non-computed profile at a later stage. You can, however, change the archive file that contains the definition of the computed profile.

   3. If your new profile is not a computed profile, continue with this step.

      Use the arrow buttons to specify the attributes for the new profile and the order in which the attributes will be displayed.

      • Add an attribute to the profile by marking the attribute's checkbox in the list of available attributes and clicking the right-pointing arrow.

      • Add all of the available attributes to the profile by clicking the right-pointing double arrow.

      • Remove an attribute from the profile by marking the attribute's checkbox in the list of assigned attributes and clicking the left-pointing arrow.

      • Remove all attributes from the profile by clicking the left-pointing double arrow.

      • Change the position of an assigned attribute relative to the other assigned attributes within the profile by marking the checkbox of the attribute and clicking the up or down arrow as required.

   4. Click OK.

3. If you need to edit a profile that already exists within the type, click the name of the profile in panel 3 and make your changes in the Edit Profile dialog box.

   Use the arrow buttons, as described in the previous step for Add Profile, to specify the attributes for the profile, and the order in which the attributes will be displayed.

4. If you need to delete a profile, select the profile in panel 3 and click Delete.

   Note:
   Deleting a profile does not delete the attributes that were assigned to the profile. It simply removes the profile definition from the asset type. The attributes still exist within the type. However, they will not be visible in the user interface unless you assign them to another profile.

Defining a Computed Profile

The following topics describe how to define a computed profile:

• Definition of Java-based Computed Profile
• Implementation guidelines for Java-based computed profiles
• Structure of archive file
• Sample computed profiles
• Loading a computed profile into an asset type definition

Definition of Java-based Computed Profile

A Java based computed profile has the following rendering mechanism:

• WithUiRendering: This dictates the user-defined rendering of the profile's attributes.

• WithoutUiRendering: This dictates the CentraSite's default rendering of the profile’s attributes. This default rendering is based on the attribute’s data type.

Implementation guidelines for Java-based computed profiles

This section describes the Java interfaces and methods that you need to implement for a computed profile.

Structure of archive file

The archive file must contain the following folders and files:

com.softwareag.centrasite.computed.profile.webui.impl.class=com.sample.MyProfileImpl

Sample computed profiles

Your CentraSite installation contains 5 sample computed profiles. Two samples are for the CentraSite Control, one for the CentraSite Business UI, and the other two are for the Eclipse Designer.

The content is organized under the following sections:

• Sample Computed Profiles for CentraSite Control

• Sample Computed Profiles for CentraSite Business UI

• Sample Computed Profiles for Eclipse Designer

Sample Computed Profiles for CentraSite Control

Your CentraSite installation contains two sample computed profiles (which is contained in demos folder) that you can use to create an archive file for the computed profile specific to CentraSite Control.

• NonPrimitiveDataTypeSamples

• SampleComputedProfile

Sample Computed Profiles for CentraSite Business UI

Your CentraSite installation contains a sample computed profile (which is contained in demos folder) that you can use to create an archive file for the computed profile specific to CentraSite Business UI.

• SampleProfile

Sample Computed Profiles for Eclipse Designer

Your CentraSite installation contains two sample computed profiles (which is contained in demos folder) that you can use to create an archive file for the computed profile specific to Eclipse Designer.

• DesignerProfileSample

• SampleComputedProfile

Loading a computed profile into an asset type definition

After you have created an archive file that contains the profile definition, you need to load the archive file into the asset type definition. You do this by starting the Edit Asset Type wizard for the appropriate asset type and specifying in the wizard that you are defining a new computed profile.

For details on how to load the archive file of a computed profile into an asset type definition, refer to the section Defining Profiles for an Asset Type.

When you have loaded the archive file, the new profile is displayed in the detail page of all assets of the asset type.

Applying Profiles to Virtual Types

When an asset is an instance of a virtual type, the set of profiles that CentraSite applies to the asset depends on the virtual type's Inherit Base Type Profiles setting. If the type's Inherit Base Type Profiles option is enabled, CentraSite applies the profiles of the base type to the asset in addition to the profiles of the virtual type. For example, the Inherit Base Type Profiles option is, by default, enabled for virtual services. Therefore, when CentraSite applies profiles for a virtual service, it applies the set of profiles that are defined for the Virtual Service object type and the set of profiles that are defined for the Service object type (the base type for the Virtual Service type).

If you disable the Inherit Base Type Profiles option for a virtual type, CentraSite applies to the asset only the profiles that are defined for the virtual type. Therefore, CentraSite applies to virtual services only the profiles that are defined for the Virtual Service type. Profiles that are defined for the Service type are not applied.

The following table summarizes how the set of profiles that CentraSite applies for a virtual type is affected by the state of the Inherit Base Type Profiles option.

For information about virtual types, see What is a Virtual Type?. For information about which predefined types in CentraSite are virtual types, see The Predefined Asset Types Installed with CentraSite.

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