File Descriptor
A file descriptor describes a file and, optionally, the structure of the file. The file can be located both in the Eclipse workspace or in the system to be attached.
The physical name (attribute Name_Physical) of the file does not have to be given in order to describe a file. This can be set by a tool output parameter at run time. If the physical name of the file already exists, a static value can be entered under this attribute. If only the structure of the file path has been defined, a dynamic path can be entered using dynamic references, see Variable References for more information.
A further feature of a file descriptor is the type. The “Workspace_File” type indicates files that should be saved in the workspace or that are to be read from the workspace.
| Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ID * | ID * | The ID of the file descriptor. |
| Name_Physical [O] | String | The physical name of the file under which the target system can find the file (file path + file name).
Dynamic references are allowed. |
| PropDelimiter | String | The delimiter to be used for the interpretation of structured file content.
Standard value: " " (Blank) |
| Structure | Selection | Describes the structure of the file.
Permitted values:
|
| Type | Selection | The type of the file descriptor. This value defines how the described file should be interpreted.
Permitted values:
|
| Relationship | Cardinality | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Has_Property | 0..* | Relationship to a Property. Property Values can be assigned to a file content, which enables the further editing of the content.
This relationship can only be used for the description of structured files (table structure). |
| Has_Action | 0..* | Relationship to an action descriptor. Used only if the file descriptor is of structure table and the table is part of a modeled dialog. In this case the actions appear in the context menu of the table items. |
Examples
The file descriptor SVN_FD_Repository is used to return SVN repository locations:
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Essential: | ||
| ID | SVN_FD_Repository | Unique identifier for the file descriptor in this model. |
| Prop Delimiter | , | The property values returned in this structured file descriptor are separated with commas. |
| Structure | Table | A table structured file descriptor consists of a sequence of properties. Each line specifies the values for each property defined as a File Descriptor_Has_Property relationship. |
| Type | InputStream | The file content is provided in the form of an input stream. |
| Optional: | ||
| Name Physical | --- | A Name Physical is not required for a file descriptor of type InputStream. |
The file descriptor SVN_FD_WORK_LocalContent is used to model a file in the local workspace:
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Essential: | ||
| ID | SVN_FD_WORK_LocalContent | Unique identifier for the file descriptor in this model. |
| Prop Delimiter | --- | Not applicable as it is an unstructured file descriptor. |
| Structure | Unstructured | The file has no internal structure. |
| Type | Workspace_File | The file descriptor represents a file within the Eclipse workspace. |
| Optional: | ||
| Name Physical | --- | The physical name is not required as the file is returned as a file output parameter of a preceding tool. |