As described in Creating an Item Type, all item types that you create will actually be sub-types of another type. This enables the sub-types to inherit properties such as part types and attributes. This article describes how to change the inherited item type, or parent, of an item type.
Prerequisites
- Meta Modelling - Important Notes and Recommendations
- Familiar with the SystemWeaver meta model building blocks (e.g., Items, Parts and Attributes)
- Familiar with the SystemWeaver Architect interface
- Introduction to Meta Modelling in SystemWeaver
- Assignment of the SW Architect role in the server
- An installation of the SystemWeaver Architect client (swArchitect)
- To get started, log in to the server with the swArchitect client, and go to the Metadata tab
- In the Type structure tree, find and select the item type whose inheritance you want to change.
- Right-click on Parent, and select Set Parent.
In the Select Type dialog, find and select the new parent type.
Click OK.
To have the inheritance change reflected in the type structure tree, you must log out and log back in to the Architect.
Things to Consider
- When the inheritance structure is changed, any existing items may become inconsistent with the meta model, since used parts may become invalid. For small models, like during experimentation using test databases, this can be fixed by manually adjusting the model, but for larger cases, and when items have been released, this should be done by a refactoring script.