Concept Inheritances
Certain business concepts are versions of other concepts; they are characterized by the same concepts.
For example, the "Library Book" concept is broken down into "Hardback" and "E-Book". These two book types inherit the links at the level of the "Library Book" concept.
Accessing Concept Inheritances
Inheritances are represented by variations.
To access concept variations:
1. Open the properties of a concept.
2. Select the Relationships > Super Types page.
The list of variations associated with the concept appears.
Creating a Concept Inheritance from a Concept Diagram
You can specify that a concept inherits characteristics defined for another concept.
For example, the "E-Book" concept inherits from the "Library Book" concept.
To specify in a concept diagram that a concept inherits another concept:
1. In the insert toolbar, click the Link button.
2. Click the inheriting concept and drag the pointer to the root concept before releasing the mouse button.
The variation is represented by a link, but it is in fact a HOPEX object.
3. Specify the Name of the variation and click Add.
A directional link from the inheriting concept to the root concept appears.
Defining Inheritance of a Concept Component
An inheritance can also be created between two Concept Components.
For example, the "Subscriber" is also a "Member".
To define an inheritance between two concept components, they should be connected to the same concepts, either directly or via variations.
To create a variation between two concept components:
1. Open the properties of the concept component to be varied.
2. Select the Variation tab.
3. Click the New button.
The variation creation wizard opens.
4. Select the options:
• "Initialization of attributes"
• "Initialization of diagrams" so that the variation appears in diagrams.
5. Click OK.
The variation is created.
A variation between Concept Components is represented graphically in a concept structure diagram. For more details, see Concept structure diagram.Creating a Concept Component Substitution
If, unlike a variation, a link is another definition of another link, you must create a substitution.
A substitution determines which element can be used to replace another, or is effectively replaced by an element existing in a given context (for example in the context of a variation). Unlike a variation, a substitution does not involve inheritance but a functional equivalence.For more details on variations and substitutions, see the HOPEX Common Features guide, "Handling Repository Objects", "Object Variations".To define a substitution between two concept components, they should be connected to the same concepts, either directly or via variations.
To create a substitution between two concept components from a concept structure diagram:
1. In the insert toolbar, click the Substitution button.
2. Click the component to be substituted and drag the pointer to the substituting component before releasing the mouse button.
3. Specify the Name and click Add.
A dotted line directional link from the component to be substituted to the substituting component appears.
The substitution is represented by a link, but it is in fact a HOPEX object.