Chapter 3 Building Structural Diagrams

Operation property sheet Parameters tab

The Parameters tab lists the parameters of your operation. A parameter is a specification of a variable that can be changed, passed, or returned. It has a type that indicates the flow of information, a name, and a code.

To create an operation parameter:

1. Select the Parameters tab in the operation property sheet.
2. Click the Add a Row tool, and then double-click the arrow at the beginning of the new parameter row to open its property sheet.
   
3. Enter any necessary properties (including the required "Parameter Type" property) as follows:
   
   

   Property	Description
   Parent	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.
   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)

4. In - Input parameter passed by value. The final value may not be modified and information is not available to the caller
5. In/Out - Input parameter that may be modified. The final value may be modified to communicate information to the caller
6. Out - Output parameter. The final value may be modified to communicate information to the caller

   Property	Description
   Parent	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.
   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)

7. Click OK to add the parameter to the operation.

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