Creating a Generalization

Relationships indicate connections between objects in a business object model. Connections can be generalizations or compositions.

In this task you create a new class that is related by generalization to your existing class.

Note: Icons for association and aggregation are also provided in the palette. However these types of connection are not supported in TIBCO BPM.

A generalization connects two classes, and it indicates that one of the two classes is a more general form of the other. Another way of describing it is that the more specialised class is a derived version of the more general class. In this procedure you will add two classes that represent specific types of claim and are thus derived from the more general Generic Claim class.

Both will inherit the properties of Generic Claim, including the claimSummary, claimDescription and claimAmount attributes. You will also add an additional attribute to one of the new classes.

Procedure

  1. Create a new class within the claim package. Name it No Fault Claim.
    Note: You may find it helpful to enlarge the claim package in the diagram. You can do this by selecting it and dragging the handles that appear at the sides and corners.
  2. Add an attribute to the new No Fault Claim class. Name it confirmation and accept the default Text type.
  3. Select the Generalization tool (in the Relationships tool group on the palette).
  4. Drag the pointer from the NoFaultClaim class to the GenericClaim class. This creates the generalization. Note that the General tab in the Properties view indicates the classes linked by the generalization.

    A fault claim differs from a no-fault claim in that a third party, the counterparty, is involved.

  5. Create a second class called Fault Claim connected to Generic Claim by a generalization in the same way as No Fault Claim.
  6. Create an attribute, of the default type Text, as described in Creating a Class and its Attributes, within the Fault Claim class. Call it counterParty.

    Both No Fault Claim and Fault Claim inherit the attributes of Generic Claim. Fault Claim also has the additional attribute counterParty, which No Fault Claim does not possess. Similarly, only No Fault Claim has the attribute confirmation.

Result

For more information, see "Creating Connections" in the "Tasks" chapter of the TIBCO Business Studio Modeling User’s Guide.

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