Validation

Introduction to validations

Thinkwise provides a comprehensive set of validations within the Software factory. Validations are carried out on the model to check for errors. These errors are pre-defined and specified by Thinkwise in a base project. Consider, for instance, a requirement that a primary key always has to be at the top of a table and that each table has to have a standard sort sequence. You can also create your own company or product-specific validations.

Every step of the development process in the Software Factory has a Validations tab where you can execute the validations for that modeler. So, you can validate your application before synchronization to IAM or deployment.

You can choose to view all validation messages in the tree or in a detail tab to keep the tree more compact:

• If a validation contains more than 25 messages, a node to expand the list is added. Double-click the node (+) or use the Expand validation task to expand the list. It remains expanded until the validation is executed again.

  Validation screen with expandable tree

• To show all messages in a detail tab instead of the tree, select a validation and use the prefilter Hide messages . This Validation messages detail tab contains the same tasks, prefilters, and Related object tab as the validation messages in the tree. In addition, it provides more options to filter specific messages than the tree.

  Validation messages in detail tab

Execute a validation

You can conduct a validation at various levels using the following tasks. Multiple validation jobs can be active at once for a project version.

• Execute all validations.
• Execute group - Executes all validations of the selected validation group.
• Execute selected - Executes the selected validation.

Validation status

After execution, an icon indicates the status of each validation. Thinkwise strongly advises to solve all information, warning, and error messages.

Pictogram	Status	Description
	OK	No problems found.
	Information	Possible problem that is not breaking, but solving it will improve the user experience.
	Warning	Possible problem. Check the problem and solve it.
	Error	Problem must be resolved.
	Unknown	Validation not executed or subject to re-validation

Prefilters for validations

Prefilters are provided to filter the validation messages:

• Info, warning and error - Shows messages at the information level and higher.
• Warning and error - Only shows messages at the warning level and higher.
• Error - Only shows error messages.
• Unassigned - Only shows messages that are not assigned to anyone.
• Assigned to me - Only shows messages assigned to the current user.
• Hide messages - Hides validation messages.
• New messages in this project version - Only shows messages that are new in this project version. For this filter to work, the previous project version must be validated.

Assign a validation

To assist in resolving validation messages, it is possible to assign messages to specific developers. Prefilters are available to show your own or unassigned validation messages.

You can use the Assign validation task to assign a developer to a message and to remove the assignment.

Task: Assign validation

Assign validation

The Assignments tab page shows an overview of the validation messages that are assigned to a developer.

Validation assignments

Approve a validation

Select a validation to approve it or to undo the approval.

• Approve - Approve a validation message so it will be hidden from the list of messages. By default, error messages cannot be approved, whereas warning or information messages can be approved. When creating your own validations it is possible to deviate from this behaviour, by setting the checkbox Allow approve.
• Temporarily approve - Approve the validation message (similar to the Approve task) until either the project version is copied to a new project version or (when working in a branch) until the branch is merged back to the trunk.
• Undo approval - Removes the (temporary) approval from a previously approved validation message. This is only available in the Validation messages tab.

The tree will be updated immediately, a new validation is not necessary.

note

(Temporarily) approved validations are not shown in the list. To see them, you need to disable the Hide approved messages task in the Validation messages tab.