Projection problem with anyquantity data type

Description

During the projection of Epicentre Version 2.2, the anyquantity data type was not always projected properly. More specifically, the column representing the 'ref_quantity_type' implementation of the projected columns is missing. The implementation of this data type is defined in Appendix F of the DAE Specification

Impact

The value of this column is associated with a list of valid units of measure, which is used to verify that the 'ref_unit_of_measure' has a valid value. This verification will be done by a DAE implementation before storing the anyquantity value. It is questionable whether it is even required to store the value of this after it's been verified. This is basically the reason that the impact of this particular bug will be very minor. Depending on the actual implementation of the DAE, there may be an expectation that the column exists and it may therefore cause problems in a DAE layer implementation. Please let us know if you're experiencing problems that seem to be related to this issue.

Solution

The solution of this problem consists of various parts:

Fix in the projection tool, such that it is projected properly when re-projected
Fix the effected tables in existing data stores
Fix the meta data in existing Epicentre Version 2.2. implementations
Fix the dictionary and DDL documentation

At this time, not all problems have a fix available. Given the minor nature of the problem, it has not received a high priority at this time. Anybody who has an urgent need for this to be fixed, please send an email to Erik van Loenen. We will then provide prompt assistence to the problem at hand based on the individual needs. Below, each part of the solution (1-4) is described in a little more detail and if applicable, the actual fix is described below.

Solution part 1

To fix the projection tool in a way that it will project the proper DDL, all that needs to be done is the following:

Open the 'entityMAP.ptp' file in an editor. This file is in the 'models/epic.2.2/input' subdirectory after installing the projection tool zip files from the CD as described (this file is in the file 'Files/SourceCode/proj_tool/models.tar.Z')
Go to the line that has 'ref quantity type' on it (line 1349) and cut it from there and paste it below the line with 'ref currency unit' (line 69)

When re-running the projection tool, the problem should be fixed.

Solution part 2

This solution requires tables to be changed in existing data stores. To be complete, this should be done for all provided ddl versions for the different data base implementations supported. Also, these columns should have appropriate values in the existing rows in the data base. This represents a bigger problem, since it is not possible to automatically find out what the appropriate value is. The fix for this would consist of DDL that alters the appropriate existing tables in place. This script has not been developed yet and if there is an urgent need for this, please let us know by sending email to Erik van Loenen.

Solution part 3

Along with changing the table definitions in the data base, the meta data should also be changed to reflect this change. The fix for this would consist of some extra data to be loaded in some of the meta data tables. A script for this is not available at this time, but again, step forward if there is an urgent need for this.

Note: An alternate solution for this would be to apply solution 1 and re-run the projection tool. Then replace the resulting meta data in an existing data base.

Solution part 4

The dictionary pages for the effected tables as well as the html pages that have a version of the DDL also miss these columns. To apply a fix for this, these pages should be replaced with pages that have these columns described properly.

Given the nature and impact of the problem, it currently does not have a high priority. As stated before, if it is a problem that requires a solution, we will provide the required solution. Please let us know if this is the case.