Operation Properties

You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open an operation property sheet, double-click its Browser entry in the Operations folder.

The General tab contains the following properties:

Property	Description
Parent	Specifies the parent classifier to which the operation belongs.
Name	Specifies the name of the item, which should be clear and meaningful, and should convey the item's purpose to non-technical users.
Code	Specifies the technical name of the object, which is used for generating code or scripts.
Comment	Descriptive comment for the object.
Stereotype	Extends the semantics of the object beyond the core UML definition. The following common stereotypes are available by default: <<constructor>> - Operation called during the instantiation of an objet that creates an instance of a class <<create>> - Operation used by a class when instantiating an object <<destroy>> - Operation used by a class that destroys an instance of a class <<storedProcedure>> - Operation will become a stored procedure in the generated PDM <<storedFunction>> - Operation will become a stored function in the generated PDM <<EJBCreateMethod>> - EJB specific CreateMethod <<EJBFinderMethod>> - EJB specific FinderMethod <<EJBSelectMethod>> - EJB specific SelectMethod For more information on EJB specific methods, see Defining Operations for EJBs.
Return Type	A list of values returned by a call of the operation. If none are returned, the return type value is null
Visibility	[class operators] Visibility of the operation, whose value denotes how it is seen outside its enclosing name space: Private - Only to the class to which it belongs Protected - Only to the class and its derived objects Package - To all objects contained within the same package Public - To all objects
Language event	When classes represent elements of interfaces, this box allows you to show an operation as triggered by a significant occurrence of an event
Static	The operation is associated with the class, as a consequence, static operations are shared by all instances of the class and have always the same value among instances
Array	Flag defining the return type of the operation. It is true if the value returned is a table
Abstract	The operation cannot be instantiated and thus has no direct instances
Final	The operation cannot be redefined
Read-only	Operation whose execution does not change the class instance
Web service method	If displayed and selected, implies that the operation is used as a web service method
Influent object	Operation that influences the current operation. The most common influence links are "overrides" or "implements" as explained below
Overrides	Indicates which parent operation the current operation is overriding through a generalization link
Implements	Name of the interface operation the current operation is implementing though a realization link
Generic	Specifies that the operation is a generic method (see Generic Types and Methods).

Parameters Tab

The Parameters tab lists the parameters of your operation. Each parameter is a variable that can be changed, passed, or returned. A parameter has the following properties:

Property	Description
Parent	Specifies the operation to which the parameter belongs.
Name	Specifies the name of the item, which should be clear and meaningful, and should convey the item's purpose to non-technical users.
Code	Specifies the technical name of the object, which is used for generating code or scripts.
Comment	Descriptive comment for the object.
Data type	Set of instances sharing the same operations, abstract attributes, relationships, and semantics
Array	When selected, turns attributes into table format
Array size	Specifies an accurate array size when the attribute multiplicity is greater than 1.
Variable Argument	Specifies that the method can take a variable number of parameters for a given argument. You can only select this property if the parameter is the last in the list.
Parameter Type	Direction of information flow for the parameter. Indicates what is returned when the parameter is called by the operation during the execution process. You can choose from the following: In - Input parameter passed by value. The final value may not be modified and information is not available to the caller In/Out - Input parameter that may be modified. The final value may be modified to communicate information to the caller Out - Output parameter. The final value may be modified to communicate information to the caller
Default value	Default value when a parameter is omitted. For example: Use an operation `oper(string param1, integer param2)`, and specify two arguments oper(val1, val2) during invocation. Some languages, like C++, allow you to define a default value that is then memorized when the parameter is omitted during invocation. If the declaration of the method is oper(string param1, integer param2 = default), then the invocation oper(val1) is similar to oper(val1, default).
WSDL data type	Only available with Web services. Defines the XML-Schema/SOAP type used during invocation of a Web method (using http or Soap)

Implementation Tab

The Implementation tab allows you to specify the code that will be used to implement the operation, and contains the following sub-tabs at the bottom of the dialog:

Items	Description
Body	Code of the implementation.
Exceptions	Signal raised in response to behavioral faults during system execution. Use the Add Exception tool to select an exception classifier to add at the cursor position.
Pre-condition	A constraint that must be true when an operation is invoked.
Post-condition	A constraint that must be true at the completion of an operation.
Specification	Similar to the pseudo code, it is a description of the normal sequence of actions.

The following tabs are also available:

Generic - lets you specify the type parameters of a generic method (see Generic Types and Methods
Related Diagrams - lists and lets you add model diagrams that are related to the operation (see "Specifying Diagrams as Related Diagrams" in Chapter 5, Diagrams, Matrices, and Symbols in the Core Features Guide.