Mapping attributes to URIs for external applications

You can map attributes to Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) to create a consistent OSLC representation for attributes across all modules that integrate with external applications. External applications can include Rational® Engineering Lifecycle Manager, Jazz® Reporting Service, and applications that integrate with IBM® Rational DOORS® by using OSLC.

About this task

Attributes that are used in multiple modules have unique identifiers in those modules, even if the attributes have the same name and type in each module. As a result, external applications treat an attribute that occurs in multiple modules as though it is a different attribute in each module. This behavior can cause issues. For example, a reporting application might not report an attribute value consistently across modules.

Attribute mapping assigns one URI to attributes that have the same name and type but that are in different modules. This mapping provides a consistent OSLC representation that external applications can use to recognize and report on equivalent attributes across modules.

Note: You only need to map attributes to URIs if you export ReqIF data from IBM Rational DOORS to IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation. The mapping is not relevant for migration (migiz) packages.

System attributes are identified by predefined, default URIs. Although these attributes and URIs are default properties, but you can modify them to meet team or customer needs. For more information about attributes and URI identifiers, see the Resource Description Framework (RDF) resources in the related links.

Table 1. System attributes and their default URIs
System attribute	Default URI
Absolute Number	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#absoluteNumber
Created By	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#createdBy
Created On	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#createdOn
Created Thru	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#createdThru
Description	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#description
Last Modified By	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#modifiedBy
Last Modified On	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#modifiedOn
Name	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#name
Object Heading	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#objectHeading
Object Short Text	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#objectShortText
Object Text	http://jazz.net/ns/rm#primaryText
Prefix	http://jazz.net/ns/rm/doors/attribute#prefix

Restriction: Jazz Reporting Service reports do not include links from Rational DOORS objects to external web URLs.

Procedure

To map attributes to URIs:

In the IBM Rational DOORS client, click File > Mappings.
The Attribute and Linking Mapping window opens.
On the Attributes page, click Add.
In the Database Explorer pane, navigate to and select a module.
In the Attributes pane, select one or more attributes and click OK.
Select an attribute in the Mapped Attributes list and complete one of these steps:
- Click Edit. In the Edit URI window, enter a URI and click OK.
- Click Suggest to assign suggested URIs to the following entries:
  - Attributes that do not have a mapped URI
  - Selected attributes
  - All attributes
  To assign suggested URIs to attributes, you must first enter a default namespace on the General page of the Attribute and Link Mapping window. You can edit suggested URIs after they are entered.
Click OK or Apply to save the attribute mapping.

What to do next

After you create or edit URI mappings and you are ready to make the mappings available to the external applications, publish your updates on the General page of the Attribute and Link Mapping window. Publishing updates might require a full reload of data in external applications. Therefore, you should aggregate your mapping changes and apply them in batches, if possible, to minimize the number of publishing events.

Important:

When you change attribute mappings, those changes affect the OSLC representation of resources that contain matching attributes. Consuming applications view mapping changes as data modifications and might need to reload all of the relevant resources. The amount of time it takes to reload changes depends on the number of resources that are affected. Publish updates with care.

If you add or modify the mapping for an attribute in a module that is included in the working set, you must update the working set. For example, if you modify a mapping for an attribute that Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager consumes, update the working set to ensure that the attributes are displayed in Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager. After you publish the mapping of an attribute, remove the module from the working set and apply the changes. Then, add the module back into the working set and apply the changes.