Design Data in the System Definition Model

Article
11/24/2009

Design Data in the System Definition Model

The .sdmdocument files that are used to create new systems (applications or logical servers), endpoints, and resources must contain certain design data that allows them to load and display correctly in Distributed System Designers. Design data is stored in the DesignData element in the .sdmdocument file.

This topic explains the various design data that are associated with each definition element. It also provides an explanation of description data, which are localized and are stored in the Description element.

The Required column indicates whether the particular property element in the Design Data is required by Distributed System Designers. The SDM schema does not impose these requirements.

SystemDefinitionModel Design Data
SystemDefinition Design Data
EndpointDefinition Design Data
SettingDeclaration Design Data
ContainmentDefinition Design Data
ResourceDefinition Design Data
Design Data Examples

SystemDefinitionModel Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the SystemDefinitionModel element.

Property	Required?	Description
DocumentType	Yes	Indicates the class of types found in the SDM document. Use a value of "AbstractTypes" for all definitions (applications, logical servers, endpoints, resources, and so on).

SystemDefinition Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the SystemDefinition (SystemDefinitionModel) and SystemDefinition (ObjectDefinition) elements.

Property	Required?	Description
PrimaryRelationshipName	Yes	For applications or logical servers, specify a value of "HostingDefinition". This item indicates that the designer should look at hosting definitions; the PrimaryRelationshipRole property indicates how the hosting definitions should be interpreted.
PrimaryRelationshipRole	Yes	For an application set to a value of "Guest"; for logical server set to a value of "Host". If you set the value to "Guest" for a logical server, but compile the layer as an application with the ProtoGen.exe tool, the prototype will show in the Toolbox, but the Settings and Constraints Editor will not work properly.
DisplayName	No	Place in the Description element, not in the DesignData element. It contains the display name for the type. This property identifies the type of the application. For example, "GenericApplication". If a value is not specified, it will use the Name attribute of the SystemDefinitionModel element.
DefaultRootName	No	The default name when you drag the prototype from the Toolbox. Defaults to DisplayName. For example, "Application1" or "LogicalServer1".
ThemeColor	No	Application or logical server color in HSL format. For example, 10, 157, 163 (generic application color).
ImageFileName	No	Image file that displays inside the application or logical server shape. This value must be a .emf or .bmp file. The property uses the default image if a value is not specified. The .emf or .bmp file must be located in the same directory as the .sdmdocument. The transparent color of a bitmap is the color of the upper-left pixel.
ErrorImageFileName	No	Image that shows when a validation error occurs. If a value is not specified, it defaults to the ImageFileName property. The .emf or .bmp file must be located in the same directory as the .sdmdocument. The transparent color of a bitmap is the color of the upper-left pixel.
Report	Yes, required for system definitions.	Outputs the data for the system to a deployment report. The value can be either "LogicalServer" or "Application".

EndpointDefinition Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the EndpointDefinition (SystemDefinitionModel) and EndpointDefinition (ObjectDefinition) elements.

Property	Required?	Description
PrimaryRelationshipName	Yes	Specify a value of "HostingDefinition". This item indicates that the designer should look at hosting definitions; the PrimaryRelationshipRole property indicates how the hosting definitions should be interpreted. The PrimaryRelationshipName value for ZoneEndpoint is ContainmentParent.
PrimaryRelationshipRole	Yes	Specify a value of "Guest" for application layer and "Host" for server layer.
DisplayName	No	Place in the Description element, not in the DesignData element. This property defaults to the Name attribute of the EndpointDefinition element. An example is "GenericProviderEndpoint".
DefaultRootName	No	Default name when you drag the prototype from the toolbox. For example, "Endpoint1". Defaults to the DisplayName.
Direction	Yes	Specify a value of "Client", "Server", or "Bidirectional". If it is a consumer endpoint, the value must be "Client"; if it is a provider, the value must be "Server". Only use "Bidirectional" with Zone.
ThemeColor	No	Endpoint color in HSL format. For example, 10, 157, 163 (generic application color).
ImageFileName	No	Image file that displays inside the endpoint shape. Must be a .emf or .bmp file. Uses the default image if a value is not specified. The .emf or .bmp file must be located in the same directory as the .sdmdocument. The transparent color of a bitmap is the color of the upper-left pixel.
Geometry	No	"General"(square), "WebService" (circle), "WebContent" (square), "Database" (hexagon). For "Zone", the default value is a square shape. For server color, the ThemeColor is the fill color. For client color, ThemeColor is not required.

SettingDeclaration Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the SettingDeclaration element.

Property	Required?	Description
Category	No	Place in the Description element, not in the DesignData element. Category that shows in the right pane of the Settings and Constraints Editor. If a value is not specified, this property defaults to Settings.
ShowInPropertyGrid	No	true if the setting shows in the Properties window; otherwise, false.
DisplayName	No	Place in the Description element, not in the DesignData element. Name used in the Settings and Constraints Editor. If a value is not specified, this property defaults to the Name attribute of the SettingDeclaration element.

ContainmentDefinition Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the ContainmentDefinition (SystemDefinitionModel) and ContainmentDefinition (ObjectDefinition) elements.

Property	Required?	Description
DefaultRootName	Yes	Name that the endpoint receives when it is dropped onto the system that contains it. For example, the DefualtRootName property value enables an ExternalWebService to contain ExternalWebService1, rather than WebService1. Overrides the DefaultRootName on EndpointDefinition.
UserConstrainable	Yes	true if the user can constrain an item in the resource list; otherwise, false. The default is true. This property is only used with resource containments.
SupportsUserCreation	No	true if the user can add a resource of that type; otherwise, false. The default is true. Primarily used with resource containments. While a designer can create ContainmentDefinitions, this property allows you to stop the user from creating them.
SupportsMultipleDelegation	No	The default is false. This property must be false.
SupportsRecursiveConnection	No	true if an application can connect to itself. The default is true.

ResourceDefinition Design Data

The following table lists the design data associated with the ResourceDefinition (SystemDefinitionModel) and ResourceDefinition (ObjectDefinition) elements.

Property	Required?	Description
PrimaryRelationshipName	NA	Unused.
PrimaryRelationshipRole	NA	Unused.
DisplayName	No	Defaults to the Name attribute of the ResourceDefinition element.
DefaultRootName	No	Defaults to the DisplayName.

Design Data Examples

The following code example shows how the Description element is used in comparison to the DesignData element for an endpoint definition.

<EndpointDefinition Name="GenericClientEndpoint" Layer="ApplicationHost" Extends="System:EndpointDefinition" Abstract="true">
      <Description>
         <Entry 
          Name="DisplayName" 
          ResourceId="GenericClientEndpoint.DisplayName" 
          Manager="GenericManager">GenericClientEndpoint</Entry>
         <Entry 
          Name="Description" 
          ResourceId="GenericClientEndpoint.Description" 
          Manager="GenericManager">
          Defines the connection point through which 
          a Generic server consumes services from other applications.
         </Entry>
      </Description>
      <DesignData>
         <VisualStudio 
          xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/SystemDefinitionModel/2005/1/DesignData/VisualStudio">
            <ModelElement>
               <Property 
                Name="PrimaryRelationshipName" 
                Value="HostingDefinition" />
               <Property 
                Name="PrimaryRelationshipRole" 
                Value="Host" />
               <Property 
                Name="DefaultRootName" 
                Value="ClientEndpoint1" />
               <Property 
                Name="Direction" 
                Value="Client" />
               <Property 
                Name="ThemeColor" 
                Value="34, 83, 213" />
               <Property 
                Name="Geometry" 
                Value="General" />
            </ModelElement>
         </VisualStudio>
      </DesignData>
</EndpointDefinition>

The following code example shows the Description element and DesignData element in a setting declaration.

<SettingDeclaration 
 Name="Protocol" 
 Definition="System:String" 
 CanBeNull="true">
         <Description>
            <Entry 
             Name="DisplayName" 
             ResourceId="GenericApplicationEndpoint.Protocol.DisplayName" 
             Manager="GenericManager">
             Protocol
            </Entry>
            <Entry 
             Name="Category" 
             ResourceId="GenericApplicationEndpoint.Protocol.Category" 
             Manager="GenericManager">
             Communications
            </Entry>
            <Entry 
             Name="Description" 
             ResourceId="GenericApplicationEndpoint.Protocol.Description" 
             Manager="GenericManager">
             The communication protocol used on the endpoint.
           </Entry>
         </Description>
         <DesignData>
            <VisualStudio 
             xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/SystemDefinitionModel/2005/1/DesignData/VisualStudio">
               <ModelElement>
                  <Property Name="ShowInPropertyGrid" Value="true" />
               </ModelElement>
            </VisualStudio>
         </DesignData>
</SettingDeclaration>

Share via

Design Data in the System Definition Model

Design Data in the System Definition Model

SystemDefinitionModel Design Data

SystemDefinition Design Data

EndpointDefinition Design Data

SettingDeclaration Design Data

ContainmentDefinition Design Data

ResourceDefinition Design Data

Design Data Examples

See Also

Additional resources