The Repository Screen

This screen is used to view and edit the Deployit repository. The following shows an example of the Repository Screen:

The screen consists of the following components:

• Repository Browser. This component is used to locate CIs in Deployit.
• Editor Window. This window is used to work with CIs. You can edit CIs in this window or compare them with each other.

The Repository Browser

The Repository Browser is used to locate CIs in Deployit.

Overview

The following is a snapshot of the Repository Browser:

The Repository Browser shows those parts of the Deployit repository that the logged in user is allowed to see.

If the list of items is longer than can fit on one screen, the Repository Browser will display one screen of items and a scrollbar.

Toolbar

The Repository Browser has the following toolbar:

It contains the following controls:

• Search box. This box is used to search for CIs based on a text string.
• Refresh button. This button is used to reload the Repository Browser information from the server.

Searching for CIs

The content of the Repository Browser can be searched by typing text in the search box and pressing Enter or clicking on the magnifying glass. The Repository Browser will show only those entries matching your search string (either as a complete match or a substring). Note that only the top-level of the entities in the Repository Browser is being searched. If you want to search for entities that are not at the top-level, restrict the scope of the browser to a lower-level item and then apply search (see below).

Navigating the Repository

To quickly locate a particular CI, the scope of the Repository Browser can be restricted by clicking the right mouse button on a particular item and selecting Show as Root from the context menu. This narrows the scope of the data being shown and makes it possible to search through it.

For example, after selecting the AnimalZoo-ear application as root, the Repository Browser shows the following:

Using the Search box it is possible to search for a particular deployment package version.

After showing the deployment package with version 1.0 as root, the Package Browser shows the following:

Using the Search box it is possible to search for a particular member of this deployment package.

Also note the breadcrumbs shown above the repository tree. When navigating the tree, the breadcrumb trail can be used to navigate back to higher levels.

Creating new CIs

The Repository Browser can also be used to create new CIs. All CIs in Deployit are stored in a hierarchy. CIs are children of or parents to other CIs, depending on their type. To create a new CI, Deployit must be told where in the repository the CI must be stored.

To add a CI, first select the parent CI in the repository browser. This can be one of the repository's root nodes or any child node. Now use either the Add new CI button in the toolbar or click the + sign shown behind the selected parent CI. A popup with possible child node types will be shown:

After selecting the new CI type, an editor window will open with a new CI instance of the specified type.

The Editor Window

The CI Editor Tab

The CI Editor tab is used to edit CIs found in the Repository Browser. The following image shows an example of the editor:

The Editor tab shows the properties of the CI being edited. Depending on the CI type, different properties will be shown.

Id Property

The id property of a CI is a unique identifier for the CI and determines it's place in the repository. It is a string consisting of folder nodes and terminated by a leaf node, all of which are separated by / characters. For example:

/Applications/PetClinic/1.0/PetClinic.ear

This denotes a CI stored in the PetClinic.ear leaf node under the Applications, PetClinic and 1.0 folder nodes.

Deployit's repository layout matches the UDM and requires CIs to be stored at certain locations.

Name Property

The name property is the last part of the CI name and can be used as a shorthand for the CI though it is not necessarily unique.

Type Property

The type property stores the CI's type. Once set, it can not be changed.

List of Values

If a CI contains a property with a restricted number of values, the following control is shown:

Select one of the available values by clicking on it.

CI References

If a CI contains a collection of references to other CIs, the following control is shown:

The right box shows the CIs currently in the collection. Use the arrow pointing left or double-click on the item to remove it from the collection. If the collection is a list (as opposed to a set), then the ordering of the items can be changed by dragging an item to it's new place in the list.

The left box is used to locate CIs for inclusion in the collection, either by using the scrollbar or searching using the textfield. Use the arrow pointing right or double-click on the item to include it in the collection.

Key - Value Pairs

If a CI contains key-value pairs, the following control is shown:

Use the + and - buttons to add or remove rows. The tab key can be used to navigate to the next cell in the grid.

The CI Comparison Tab

The CI Comparison tab is used to compare CIs found in the Repository Browser. The following image shows an example:

To perform a comparison, follow these steps:

• Locate the CI you want to use as the reference for the comparison in the Repository Browser.
• Select the reference CI and click on the Compare toolbar button. Alternatively, use the right-click context menu on the selected CI. A CI Comparison tab will open, displaying the selected CI.
• Navigate to the CI you want to compare to the reference CI.
• Drag the CI into the CI Comparison tab. A column will be added to the grid, showing the dropped CI and it's values.
• Repeat the last two steps up to a maximum of 5 CIs.

The Comparison tab shows a grid with the CIs properties as rows and columns for each of the CIs being compared. If a CI has a value that is different from the first, reference CI, the property and the differing values are colored red.