Integrate with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect CASE tool for Geodatabase modeling

[PeterFitts]

In previous versions ESRI supported Visio or Rational Rose as a CASE tool for Geodatabase modeling. These CASE tools can be cumbersome to use or expensive. We are seeing more and more that Enterprise Architect (http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/products/ea/8/index.html) is the CASE tool of choice in projects where data model documentation is required, but without Geodatabase integration it is difficult to use for data model development. 

Enterprise Architect is relatively inexpensive CASE tool when compared to Rational Rose, and it performs significantly better than Visio. Having the Geodatabase types integrated into EA, similiar to how they are in Visio and Rational Rose would provide a robust CASE tool for Geodatabase development that does not require an ESRI CASE tool to be developed, and it would satisfy the user community that has requirements for data model documentation.

[danan]

Sparx Systems may be releasing a non-beta version of its ArcGIS profile (a UML profile of the geodatabase) to coincide with the official release of ArcGIS 10.1. So stay tuned:

http://www.sparxsystems.com/arcgis

[LorneDmitruk4]

It would also be nice to be able to incorporate incremental updates using the import wokspace document.

[PeterVeenstra]

ldmitruk has the right of it. EA is great. Sparx are great folks and are willing to work with the ESRI community. But until the XML Workspace Import functionality supports incremental schema updates then this solution won't work well. EA can build a schema fast and easy. It is a great tool to work with and there is a rich set of functionality. Need the incremental schema update. 

[PeterVeenstra]

Business Case
Currently the XML Import Tool will create a new geodatabase. There is no methodology for ‘updating’ the schema for an existing Geodatabase. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an excellent UML modeling tool that generates ESRI format ‘XML Workspace’ document. There is the need to incrementally update the existing Geodatabase with changes to the schema as modeled by Enterprise Architect. The existing VISIO XMI Case Tool Import wizard does this. As changes are located between the input XML (or previous the XMI) and the existing Geodatabase then these were highlighted in the interface to allow the user to accept them or not. Present the user with a listing of potential changes.
 
Changes could be additions of feature data sets, feature classes, tables, fields, domain values, relationships classes. Deletions could be for/from the same list. Updates are trickier but could involve changing field types for attributes. I would treat them like a standard geodatabase edit – delete/add. Delete the old and replace with the new. But do not delete tables with data in them.
 
The more I noodle around with this in my head I think I need to be a little more specific on what we need here. But this is a start. Again, let me know if there is any other steps I need to take.
 
Peter

https://community.esri.com/ideas/2720
(I tied this one to “Integrate with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect CASE Tool for Geodatabase modeling” for lack of a better alternative.)

[DavidColey]

What about for encoding geodatabase behaviors such as ID generation or auto-generating related geometries such that the behavior is independent of geodatabase type.  Much like the old CASE-Visual C++ tutorials