Extending Rational Software Architect functionality
Using the extensibility features of Rational Software
Architect, you can extend the modeling and development functionality of this
workbench-based environment through a combination of application programming
interfaces (APIs), extension points, and utilities.
- Extensibility overview
IBM Rational modeling products can be extended to address the specific needs of an entire company, a project, or an individual user. An extensibility effort can be as simple as defining some additional properties or as advanced as defining an entire new plug-in.
- Extending the modeling environment using pluglets
Pluglets are small Java applications that are used to make minor extensions to the workbench in a simple and straightforward way. Pluglets are written in Java and reside in a pluglet project. The pluglet can be tested in the same instance of the workbench just like any other Java application. Pluglet authors can use the Java development environment, and they have access to the application programming interfaces (APIs) of the workbench plug-ins to extend and implement the existing pluglets.
- Extending the workbench
The Eclipse platform provides a set of robust resources for extending the workbench environment. Learn about the Plug-in Development Environment (PDE), the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF), the Java development tooling (JDT), and the UML2 application programming interfaces (APIs).
- Extending the UML metamodel using custom UML profiles
If you are modeling a system and need to extend the UML metamodel for a particular use, instead of changing the metamodel, you can create a set of stereotypes and constraints and group them into a custom UML profile. You can apply a custom UML profile to a model and use the stereotypes and constraints to mark up your model for a specific platform or domain.
- Extensibility reference
The Rational modeling products provide additional extension points and application programming interfaces (APIs) to extend the workbench environment.