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Fundamentals - Basics of Class Editor Schemas

Applies To
Product(s):	OpenPlant Modeler
Version(s):	08.11.09.XXX(SS5) \| 08.11.11.XX(SS6)
Environment:	Windows 7/8.1/10 (64 bit)
Area:	Schema
Subarea:	Fundamentals
Original Author:	Bentley Product Advantage Group

Background

Bentley Class Editor is a tool that allows you to create and edit multiple XML schemas based on engineering objects. Schemas included with other Bentley products can be edited in Bentley Class Editor. New schemas can be created from scratch or imported from a variety of sources including databases and text files. Various operations can be performed on classes, properties, relationships and custom attributes of a schema. Bentley Class Editor also supports supplementary schemas and schema differencing.

The plant industry has a number of potential disparate systems to integrate. A common information model across the life cycle of a plant process is needed. Such a model should provide a single context that supports all the views that process engineers, equipment engineers, operators, maintenance engineers, and other specialists may have of the facility.

This product helps transform data integration tasks from a number of disparate application-specific information models into a single, industry-standard information model. In this way, your organization can define and manage life cycle information for your project or facility.

For Example - If a firm has valve data in a schematic application, a 3D application, and a pipe stress interface application, the valve most likely is named differently in each application (for example, PIPE_PVLV in a 3D application or AT_VALVE in a schematic application). Using XML, Bentley Class Editor takes the valve data and presents it in a schema in a common format. XML provides a universal way to exchange business information.

Bentley Class Editor provides the following features:

The capability to add mappings from various systems to a common format by enabling you to consistently maintain enterprise-wide data
A way to consistently define business schemas across all applications in your enterprise
A standard XML format called ECXML enabling consistent definitions of classes and relationships
The capability to define metadata against the schema
The use of Bentley ECOM (Engineering Content Object Model), the software development framework for extensibility
The support for future planned add-ins to include an eWarehouse add-in for loading ECXML classes and rules into eWarehouse.

Common Terms

ECXML - is an XML format developed by Bentley for business objects. EC stands for Engineering Content. The information model of the business objects consists of both:

Schema - A schema describes the classifications, structures, and so on of the data. It is the metadata of the instance data.

Instance data - The instance data consists of the database rows, business objects, and so on that make up the actual business information.

Metadata - It is a data about data, of any sort in any media. An item of metadata may describe an individual datum, or content item, or a collection of data including multiple content items.

ECOM - is the acronym for Engineering Content Object Model. It is a set of .NET APIs developed by Bentley for engineering content management.

Working with Schemas

A schema is a logical structure that holds classes, and relationships in it. Classes, relationships, properties, and custom attributes are the most common pieces of an EC schema. The EC schemas are defined using an XML based language called ECXML.

It includes -

Creation of Classes
Creation of properties
Creation/Addition of Custom Attributes.
Creation or working of Relationship classes
EC Expressions.
Schema Differencing.

Addition of schema fundamentals, information sharing should keep on adding based on cases covered while handling issues with user. User may check sections covered under this article for more details & help.