Introduction

DEXlib and STEPmod are developed on Sourceforge.net (http://www.sourceforge.net). Sourceforge.net is a free Open Source software and standards development website.

The different development activities are described at the Development process page.

General development instructions

In order to take part in the development of DEX Specifications and related technics, you need to have access to the DEXlib CVS at Sourceforge.net. How this is achieved is explained in the CVS access guide .

The basic structure (folders, files,headers, boilerplate text, a.s.o.) for DEXs, Capabillities and Templates are created with the DexPro application. Visit the 'Software' section of DEXlib to read more about DexPro .

A description of the XML elements (tags) that are used when writing an XML file for use in DEXlib are described here .

If you're unsure about where in DEXlib (which folders) images, visio drawings and other files you've created should be placed, have a look at the DEXlib directory structure page.

Working with STEPmod and DEXlib

The information in the sections below is an abstract from the 'WinCvs Daily Use Guide' found at. (http://www.thathost.com/wincvs-howto/). It is a useful source of CVS help. It's highly recommended to visit this page if you have any CVS related questions.

Check in modified files to STEPmod and DEXlib

This section describes how you upload your local changes, into CVS on Sorceforge.net. Making local modifications available in the Sourceforge CVS repository, is known as 'committing' the changes.

1. In order not to corrupt DEXlib, it's important to make sure that created or edited XML files are well-formed. Open the XML file with Internet Explorer. If there are any errors in the file, it will not display properly. The use of illegal charachters is one of the most common reasons why a file isn't well-formed. Read more in the section about characters .
2. Before committing, you should do an update (to the file or the complete module) to make sure there are no conflicts. See 'Getting Other People's Changes from CVS' on the 'wincvs-howto' page.
3. Select the directory, file or files that you want to commit.
4. Click the right mouse button on the selection, and choose the Commit selection menu item. Or, chose 'Commit...' (Ctrl+M) from the Modify meny.
5. In the Commit settings dialog, enter a log message. This step is optional, but it is highly recommended that you take some time to shortly describe what was changed.
6. Press the OK button.

Please note that committing changes will not automatically add new files that you have created to the repository. See 'Adding Files and Directories' in the WinCvs Daily Use Guide for a description of doing that and the section below.

Check in new files to STEPmod and DEXlib

This section describes how a new file is added to CVS.

1. Select the directory, file or files that you want to add.
2. Click the right mouse button on the selection, and choose the 'Add selection' or 'Add selection binary' menu item. These menu items can also be found in the Modify menu. Use binary for non-text files, otherwise the files will be corrupted by CVS!
3. As the files are only marked for addition, you have to commit them to enter them in the repository.

If your local new file isn't shown in WinCVS, make sure all view filters are turned off. You find the filter settings under 'File filter' on the View menu.

Delete files in STEPmod and DEXlib

This section describes how a file can be removed from CVS.

1. Select the file or files that you want to remove.
2. Click the right mouse button on the selection, and choose the 'Remove selection' menu item. These menu items can also be found in the Modify menu.
3. As the files are only marked for removal, you have to commit them to remove them from the repository.

The file is not actually removed from STEPmod and DEXlib on Sourceforge, but it is placed in the 'Attic'. This means it is possible to undo the deletion, but you should still be careful when deleting files.

Rename files in STEPmod and DEXlib

This section describes how you change the name of a file in CVS

It is not possible to add a new file with the same name as one which preaviously existed in the same folder. The filename 'Image.PNG' is the same as 'image.png' as far as CVS is concerned. Renaming is actually a deletion followed by adding a new file. In order to remove the capital letters from 'Image.PNG', it should first be copied and given a new name, e.g. 'image1.png', and then 'Image.PNG' should be deleted. Make sure to only use small letters in file names. Capital letters cause problems to... (???)

Undo incorrect changes in STEPmod and DEXlib

How an edit is undone is (will be...) described in this section.

Instructions for working with the PLCS Information Pages

To be described further;

• the usage of colors for figures
• the numbering of figures and the figure id
• the storage and format of source files for figures
• title naming convention ("supertitle - title")
• figures used both in official presentations and i the Info Pages

Specific development instructions

Specific instruction on how to develop DEX Specifications, Business DEXs, Reference data etc., are described at separate pages. You find them using the links below or the Contents page.

• Development process
• Developing DEX Specifications
• Developing Business DEX Specifications
• Developing Capabilities
• Developing Reference Data