Editing with the SCA XML editor

Basic features

The SCA Composite XML editor extends and specializes for SCA the XML editor provided by the Eclipse WTP project.

Thus, this editor inherits from the usual features: syntax highlighting, source formatting, XSD-based validation, etc...

As a basic feature, this editor is automatically associated with *.composite and *.componentType files.
It also uses the XSD files defining SCA elements, to validate your file and provide auto-completion for mark-ups and attribute names.

Advanced features

Auto-completion for attribute values

The SCA XML editor provides user assistance for some attribute values.

Currently, the editor proposes values for the following attributes:

• Attribute promote from composite service mark-up.
• Attribute promote from composite reference mark-up.
• Attributes source and target from composite wire mark-up.
• Attribute target from component reference mark-up.
• Attribute name from composite include mark-up.

The five first quoted attributes will get SCA relative URIs ( componentName/serviceName or componentName/referenceName ) as proposals. The proposals which are made take in account included composites, which means that proposals will include elements from included composites.

Proposals are displayed when you type in Ctrl + space.

Using your own XML definitions

The SCA XML editor uses the XML schemas provided by the OSOA consortium and used as the basis for the SCA meta-model.
However, you may want to use or register your own XML schemas to use them in the SCA XML editor.

This can be achieved in two different manners:

• The first one consists in registering your XSD files in the XML catalog.
  Go into Window > Preferences and open the XML Catalog preference page, located in the XML category.

  Select User Specified Entries and click Add....
  Specify the location on your file system.
  Select URI as the key type and set the XSD target namespace in the key field.
  

  

  Click OK and save your preferences.

• The second solution should be applied if you do not have any XML schema or that you cannot use it because of copyright or license issues.

  Go into Window > Preferences and open the SCA > SCA XML Editors preference page.
  Use the tabs to define a new platform namespace, new binding, implementation or interface types.

  

  

  Once you have added your own elements, click Apply to save your preferences.
  These elements are used by the SCA XML editor to make auto-completion proposals.