Understanding the Data Dictionary building block assets

The Data Dictionary Browser presents elements in a tree structure. The browser allows selection of DDEs so they can be referenced.

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Data Dictionary Browser

The Data Dictionary Editor is used for creating and managing data dictionaries. A middleware developer can create, modify, and delete metadata properties for both the data dictionary and its elements using the Data Dictionary Editor. The Data Dictionary Editor enforces validations while creating or updating a data dictionary. For more information on the rules for creating DDEs for a valid schema, see Data dictionary elements .

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Data Dictionary Editor

The Data Dictionary Editor allows business process owners to create data dictionaries by importing them from a valid XML schema or FML model. Business process owners can also export their data dictionaries to FML or generate a sample xml data from the Data Dictionary Editor.

If the middleware developer attempts to import a schema with multiple top-level elements, the Data Dictionary Editor prompts for a single top-level element. The developer selects one of the top elements for use in creating a data dictionary tree. The data dictionary represents a cohesive instance of data for a given context, rather than a set of disjointed data. An XSD with a forest of elements represents multiple trees of elements - with each tree being an unrelated data set. A data dictionary is created over one such tree. It does not allow import of annotated FMLs with multiple top-level entities. Both the name, and element type for a data dictionary/DDE are required parameters and must be specified. A parent DDE (composite) can't have two children with the same name.

The following diagram details the end-to-end data dictionary definition. It includes the integration process including the personas involved, tools used, metadata storage, and its access at run time:

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Data dictionary definition

1. The Business Process Owner can use the Data Dictionary Editor to create a data dictionary manually. For information on creating the data dictionary using the Data Dictionary Editor, see Creating a data dictionary .

2. The Business Process Owner can also use the Data Dictionary Editor to create data dictionary by importing a schema.

3. On saving the data dictionary, the data dictionary metadata definition gets stored in the back end ie in the asset manager.

4. The business process owner can export the data dictionary using the Data Dictionary Editor, in form of an annotated FML model. This annotated model can then be imported to create a data dictionary.

5. A LiveCycle developer can use the domain XSD to create both the data dictionary and the artifacts such as the forms for the application. Designer can be used for importing an XSD and creating relevant forms from it.

6. The Solution Developer creates the solution in terms of artifacts, such as forms required by the application, corresponding Java classes, flex components, and so on.

7. The Solution Developer assembles them into a deployable archive (for example, a solution ear/war or just a set of solution beans). The solution is then deployed. The solution can be tested with sample data dictionary XML generation capability exposed through the Data Dictionary Editor.

8. The deployed customer solution accesses both the Data Dictionary metadata and Data Dictionary run time to accomplish its flows. For example, a document composer application accesses a letter data dictionary to render the required fields.

9. The Data Dictionary run time accesses the Data Dictionary metadata to create the Data Dictionary Instances (DDI). For more information on the Data Dictionary run time see Data Dictionary run time workflow .

10. The Data Dictionary run time does not integrate directly with back-end legacy systems.

A primitive DDE represents a field or attribute which is atomic in nature. Primitive data dictionary elements defined outside the scope of a complex type (composite DDE) or a repeating element (collection DDE) can be stored in any location within the XML Schema. The location of the data corresponding to a primitive DDE is not dependent on the mapping of its parent DDE. Primitive DDE uses the mapping information from the XML Binding field to determine its value and the mappings translate into one of the following:

• an attribute

• an element

• a text context

• nothing (an ignored DDE)

The following example shows a simple schema.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> 
    <xs:element name='age' type='integer'/> 
    <xs:element name='price' type='decimal'/> 
</xs:schema> 

Allowing absolute mapping for child elements of a Composite DDE provides more flexibility in terms of Xpath Binding. Mapping a composite DDE to a particular complex type element in XML schema limits the scope of binding its child elements.

The following example shows the schema for a note.

<xs:element name="note"> 
    <xs:complexType> 
        <xs:sequence> 
            <xs:element name="to" type="xs:string"/> 
            <xs:element name="from" type="xs:string"/> 
            <xs:element name="heading" type="xs:string"/> 
            <xs:element name="body" type="xs:string"/> 
        </xs:sequence> 
    </xs:complexType> 
</xs:element> 

A collection element must be mapped only to another collection element (which has cardinality > 1). The child DDEs of a collection DDE have relative(local) XML Binding with respect to its parent's XML Binding. As the child DDEs of a collection element must have the same cardinality as that of parent, the relative binding is mandated to ensure the cardinality constraint so that the child DDEs don't point to a non repeating XML Schema element. In the example below, the cardinality of "TokenID" must be same as that of "Tokens" which is its parent collection DDE.

The XML Schema below declares an element with the name Tokens and a maxOccurs attribute of “unbounded”. Thus, Tokens is a collection element.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
<Root> 
  <Tokens> 
    <TokenID>string</TokenID> 
    <TokenText> 
      <TextHeading>string</TextHeading> 
      <TextBody>string</TextBody> 
    </TokenText> 
  </Tokens> 
  <Tokens> 
    <TokenID>string</TokenID> 
    <TokenText> 
      <TextHeading>string</TextHeading> 
      <TextBody>string</TextBody> 
    </TokenText> 
  </Tokens> 
  <Tokens> 
    <TokenID>string</TokenID> 
    <TokenText> 
      <TextHeading>string</TextHeading> 
      <TextBody>string</TextBody> 
    </TokenText> 
  </Tokens> 
</Root> 

The following example shows the schema for a company.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
<xs:schema xmlns="DCT" targetNamespace="DCT" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" 
  elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified"> 
  <xs:element name="Company"> 
    <xs:complexType> 
      <xs:sequence> 
        <xs:element name="Name" type="xs:string"/> 
        <xs:element name="Type" type="xs:anySimpleType"/> 
        <xs:element name="HeadOfficeAddress" type="Address"/> 
        <xs:element name="SalesOfficeAddress" type="Address" minOccurs="0"/> 
        <xs:element name="HeadCount" type="xs:integer"/> 
        <xs:element name="CEO" type="Employee"/> 
        <xs:element name="Workers" type="Employee" maxOccurs="unbounded"/> 
      </xs:sequence> 
    </xs:complexType> 
  </xs:element> 
  <xs:complexType name="Employee"> 
    <xs:complexContent> 
      <xs:extension  base="Person"> 
        <xs:sequence> 
          <xs:element name="CurrAddress" type="Address"/> 
          <xs:element name="DOJ" type="xs:date"/> 
          <xs:element name="Phone" type="xs:integer"/> 
        </xs:sequence> 
      </xs:extension> 
    </xs:complexContent> 
  </xs:complexType> 
  <xs:complexType name="Person"> 
    <xs:sequence> 
      <xs:element name="PersonName" type="Name"/> 
      <xs:element name="DOB" type="xs:dateTime"/> 
    </xs:sequence> 
  </xs:complexType> 
  <xs:complexType name="Name"> 
    <xs:sequence> 
      <xs:element name="FirstName" type="xs:string"/> 
      <xs:element name="MiddleName" type="xs:string"/> 
      <xs:element name="LastName" type="xs:string"/> 
    </xs:sequence> 
  </xs:complexType> 
  <xs:complexType name="Address"> 
    <xs:sequence> 
      <xs:element name="Street" type="xs:string"/> 
      <xs:element name="City" type="xs:string"/> 
      <xs:element name="State" type="xs:string"/> 
      <xs:element name="Zip" type="xs:string"/> 
    </xs:sequence> 
  </xs:complexType> 
</xs:schema>

The following code example details the FML export of a Company data dictionary, the data dictionary specific annotations use the DDS annotation. This example also contains two annotation groups: General and XmlBinding. The description and xpath are two respective annotations which are captured as part of these two annotation groups.

<model xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/Fiber/1.0"> 
  <annotation name="DDS"> 
    <item name="name">Company</item> 
    <item name="displayName">Company</item> 
    <item name="version">1.0</item> 
    <item name="type">NONSYSTEM</item> 
    <item name="extended_k1">v1</item> 
    <item name="extended_k2">v2</item> 
  </annotation> 
  <annotation name="General"> 
    <item name="description"/> 
  </annotation> 
  <entity name="Company"> 
    <annotation name="DDS"> 
      <item name="setAsTopLevelWithName">Company</item> 
      <item name="displayName">Company</item> 
      <item name="extended_k3">v3</item> 
      <item name="extended_k4">v4</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <annotation name="General"> 
      <item name="description"/> 
    </annotation> 
    <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
      <item name="xpath">/Company</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <annotation name="LiveCycleES"> 
      <item name="generate_type">true</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <property name="Name" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Name</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Name</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="Type" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Type</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Type</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-one" name="HeadOfficeAddress" required="true" type="Address"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">HeadOfficeAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/HeadOfficeAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-one" name="SalesOfficeAddress" required="false" type="Address"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">SalesOfficeAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/SalesOfficeAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="HeadCount" required="true" type="double"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">HeadCount</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/HeadCount</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-one" name="CEO" required="true" type="Employee"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">CEO</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/CEO</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-many" name="Workers" required="true" type="Employee[]"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Workers</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Workers</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
  </entity> 
  <entity name="Address"> 
    <annotation name="LiveCycleES"> 
      <item name="generate_type">true</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <property name="Street" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Street</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Street</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="City" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">City</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/City</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="State" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">State</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/State</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="Zip" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Zip</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Zip</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
  </entity> 
  <entity name="Employee"> 
    <annotation name="LiveCycleES"> 
      <item name="generate_type">true</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-one" name="PersonName" required="true" type="Name"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">PersonName</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/PersonName</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="DOB" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">DOB</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/DOB</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property cardinality="one-to-one" name="CurrAddress" required="true" type="Address"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">CurrAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/CurrAddress</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="DOJ" required="true" type="date"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">DOJ</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/DOJ</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="Phone" required="true" type="double"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">Phone</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/Phone</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
  </entity> 
  <entity name="Name"> 
    <annotation name="LiveCycleES"> 
      <item name="generate_type">true</item> 
    </annotation> 
    <property name="FirstName" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">FirstName</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/FirstName</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="MiddleName" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">MiddleName</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/MiddleName</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
    <property name="LastName" required="true" type="string"> 
      <annotation name="DDS"> 
        <item name="displayName">LastName</item> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="General"> 
        <item name="description"/> 
      </annotation> 
      <annotation name="XMLBinding"> 
        <item name="xpath">/LastName</item> 
      </annotation> 
    </property> 
  </entity> 
</model>

In order to use this sample you will need to add the <dct_root>/client/java/adobe-dct-client.jar to your project's classpath.

The data dictionary services are exposed using Spring Remoting over HTTP and the following configuration is loaded in the application context.

 <bean name="/service/DataDictionaryRegistryService" class="org.springframework.remoting.httpinvoker.HttpInvokerServiceExporter"> 
    <property name="service" ref="lc.dct.dataDictionaryRegistryService" /> 
    <property name="serviceInterface" value="com.adobe.dct.service.DataDictionaryRegistryService" /> 
    </bean> 
    <bean name="/service/DataDictionaryUtilService" class="org.springframework.remoting.httpinvoker.HttpInvokerServiceExporter"> 
    <property name="service" ref="lc.dct.dataDictionaryUtilService" /> 
    <property name="serviceInterface" value="com.adobe.dct.service.DataDictionaryUtilService" /> 
    </bean>

Invoke the data dictionary Util Service, and pass the data dictionary Id as parameter to get sample XML data for data dictionary.

HttpInvokerProxyFactoryBean httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean = new HttpInvokerProxyFactoryBean(); 
httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean.setServiceInterface(DataDictionaryUtilService.class); 
httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean.setServiceUrl(soapEndpoint + "/cmsa/remoting/service/DataDictionaryUtilService"); 
UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken userAuthToken = new UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken(userName, password); 
SecurityContextHolder.getContext().setAuthentication(userAuthToken); 
httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean.setHttpInvokerRequestExecutor(new AuthenticationSimpleHttpInvokerRequestExecutor()); 
httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet(); 
DataDictionaryUtilService ddUtilService = (DataDictionaryUtilService) httpInvokerProxyFactoryBean.getObject(); 
ddUtilService.getSampleXMLDataForDD(dataDictionaryId);

In order to use this sample you will have to add <dct_root>/client/flex/adobe-dct-flex-services.swc to your Flex project's classpath.

Get the singleton instance of data dictionary service.

 DataDictionaryUtilServiceImpl ddUtilService = DataDictionaryUtilServiceImpl.getInstance();

Invoke the data dictionary Util Service, and pass the data dictionary Id as parameter to export a data dictionary as annotated FML.

/** 
 *  Exporting Data Dictionary 
 */ 
private function exportAsFML(event:*):void 
{ 
  var ddId:String = //The id of an existing data dictionary. 
  ddUtilService.exportDataDictionaryAsFML(ddId, handleSuccess, handleFault); 
} 
/* Success Handler */ 
private function handleSuccess(event:DCTServiceEvent):void 
{ 
   var ddFML:String = event.data as String;         
} 
/* Fault Handler */ 
private function handleFaultevent:FaultEvent):void 
{ 
   trace("Error exporting DataDictionary"+ (event.message as ErrorMessage).faultCode );                  
}