Intercax
IntercaxSyndeia may be best considered as a set of services with their own open REST API embedded in your integrated design environment, plus a set of user interfaces (UI), each of which can execute a particular set of those services. It can be difficult to keep track of which UIs call which services to support which use cases, especially as each UI has evolved in response to customer needs.
Some questions come up repeatedly as our users become more familiar with Syndeia, so I’ve decided to start a blog series to answer them.
What is Syndeia Standalone for?
The Syndeia Standalone client was introduced in the Syndeia 3.2 release (2018) to allow users without Cameo or Rhapsody SysML modeling tools to create digital thread connections, specifically to create, compare and update reference connections.
The Standalone client has a user interface (UI) very similar to the Syndeia Cameo and Rhapsody plugin clients (see Figure 1), but there are a number of significant differences.
- Syndeia Standalone requires Syndeia Cloud – While the Cameo and Rhapsody plugins can support some use cases by storing inter-model relations within the active SysML model, Syndeia Standalone must have a connection to Syndeia Cloud.
- Syndeia Standalone cannot connect to Cameo or Rhapsody – Only the Cameo and Rhapsody plugin clients can connect to SysML models in an active instance of those tools, but Standalone can connect to all the other 30+ integrated tools supported by Syndeia, including Teamwork Cloud and SysML 2.0 repositories and the Generic REST API integration.
- Syndeia Standalone does not support Model Transforms (with one exception) – Unlike the Cameo and Rhapsody plugin clients, Standalone supports only one model transform use case, JIRA-GitHub, as described in the final section of this post.
Figure 1 shows the Connection Manager tab for the Syndeia Standalone client, where reference connections have been made between a PTC Part and a Teamwork Cloud Block. Similar reference connections could be created between any of the supported tools. If a connected element is in a configuration-managed repository, Syndeia Standalone will be able to detect version changes in that element and update the reference connection to point to the latest version.
Figure 1 Creating a Reference Connection between Windchill and Teamwork Cloud
Connections to Local Files and Applications
The Syndeia Web Dashboard, introduced in the 3.4 release, provides an alternate Syndeia UI for users without Cameo or Rhapsody. It allows the creation of reference connections between most of the integrated tools and provides a powerful set of features for analyzing, visualizing and documenting the digital thread. But the Standalone client has some capabilities that have not been duplicated in the web browser client as of the Syndeia 3.6 release.
- Syndeia Standalone can access local file and applications – Unlike the Syndeia Web Dashboard, the Standalone client can browse and create reference connections to models running in local applications: Simulink/Stateflow (The MathWorks), NX (Siemens), and Creo (PTC). It can also browse and connect model data in MS Excel, MySQL, and XML.
In the example in Figure 2, a reference connection has been made between a Simulink block Flight Controller and a Jama requirement Flight Control Spec. The Simulink model is stored on my local machine’s file system (it could also be accessed from a configuration-managed repository such as GitHub). When I expand the Flight Controller.slx file to display the Flight Controller block, Syndeia launches the Simulink application on my local machine so I can see the contents of the model. I must have that application available to see those contents and make connections to them.
The same considerations apply to NX and Creo CAD files.
- Syndeia Standalone can compare and update reference connections – Unlike the Syndeia Web Dashboard in the current 3.6 release, the Standalone UI can compare the saved version of the connected element with the latest version and update to that version if desired.
Figure 2 Creating a Reference Connection between Simulink and Jama
JIRA – GitHub Model Transforms
The one exception to “no model transforms in Syndeia Standalone” is for JIRA Issues ↔ GitHub issues, implemented in response to a customer request. Figure 3 shows an example for a GitHub-to-JIRA model transform. One special feature of this transform is that a hyperlink to the JIRA issue appears in the Comment field in the GitHub issue and a hyperlink to the GitHub issue appears in the Description field in the JIRA issue. While this is not the standard pattern for model transforms, the Syndeia Cloud’s back-end services made this a relatively straightforward addition. View this video for an extended demonstration.
Figure 3 GitHub Issue-to-JIRA Issue Model Transform connection
Bottom Line
The Syndeia Standalone client does not truly “stand alone”; it requires Syndeia Cloud to operate. The use cases supported by the Standalone client are also supported by the SysML plugin clients, the Syndeia Web Dashboard, or both, but there are situations in which it may be the optimal solution. Consult with Intercax Applications Engineering staff for more information.
Other Parts in this series:
- Part 1: Syndeia FAQs, Part 1
- Part 2 : Do I need Syndeia Cloud and Syndeia Clients?
- Part 3: What is a Data Map connection?
- Part 4 : What is the Syndeia Standalone Client? (This Part)
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