Configure table views

A table view presents a spreadsheet-like summary of model elements: each row is an element selected by the view, and each column renders one aspect of it. This page builds a small requirements table step by step, touching every concept along the way; the pages under Learn more cover each one in depth.

Take a small model with two requirement definitions, each with an ID, documentation, and a subject:

package ExampleModel {
    part def Drone {
        doc /* A quadcopter delivery drone. */
    }
    part def Battery {
        doc /* A rechargeable power source. */
    }

    requirement def <'REQ-001'> MaxAltitude {
        doc /* The drone shall not exceed an altitude of 500 m. */
        subject drone : Drone;
    }
    requirement def <'REQ-002'> BatteryEndurance {
        doc /* The battery shall sustain 30 minutes of flight. */
        subject battery : Battery;
    }
}

Select the rows

The table view is itself a SysML element, written in the same workspace. Its expose statement casts a wide net over the model, and filter narrows the catch by type:

package MyViews {
    private import SysideViews::*;

    view myRequirementsTable : TVD::TableView {
        expose ExampleModel::*;
        filter hastype SysML::RequirementDefinition;
    }
}

Everything directly under ExampleModel is exposed, and only the requirement definitions survive the filter: MaxAltitude and BatteryEndurance become the two rows (see Expose and filter). A set of boolean attributes refines what the selection collects, such as whether abstract definitions are included (see ContentView attributes).

Add a column

Each child view subsetting columnViews becomes one column, and its declared name becomes the column header, exactly as written. This column shows each requirement’s ID:

view ID :> columnViews {
    attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::declaredShortName;
}

The featureRepresentation attribute selects what aspect of the row element the cells render: here the declared short name, which is where a requirement ID lives. Further columns can render other aspects of the same row element by picking different representations, here the declared name and the documentation body:

view Name :> columnViews {
    attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::declaredName;
}
view Doc :> columnViews {
    attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::documentation;
}

The full catalogue of representations spans names, documentation, attribute values, and more (see Representations). Some representations are writable, making their cells editable straight from the table (see Editable representations).

Reach related elements

A cell does not have to be about the row element itself. Every column so far implicitly describes baseViewElement, the default feature a cell represents: on each row it is that row’s own element, MaxAltitude on the first and BatteryEndurance on the second. A navigation chain, written in columnFeature, starts from baseViewElement and walks to a related element through steps such as Subject or Owner (see Navigation chains):

view 'Subject Name' :> columnViews {
    :>> columnFeature = Subject(baseViewElement);
    attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::name;
}

Warning

Unlike featureRepresentation, columnFeature is not an attribute Writing attribute :>> columnFeature = … changes the feature’s type and breaks the column.

On the first row the chain runs from MaxAltitude to its subject drone, and the representation then renders that subject’s name. The two halves are independent, so any representation can follow any chain. A quoted view name such as 'Subject Name' allows spaces in the header.

Steps compose by nesting, so a chain can walk several hops. This column continues past the subject to the definition that types it, and renders that definition’s documentation:

view 'Subject Doc' :> columnViews {
    :>> columnFeature = DefinitionsFirst(Subject(baseViewElement));
    attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::documentation;
}

A nested chain reads from the inside out: on the first row, Subject runs from MaxAltitude to drone, and DefinitionsFirst continues from drone to the Drone definition, whose documentation the cell shows.

The finished table

package MyViews {
    private import SysideViews::*;

    view myRequirementsTable : TVD::TableView {
        expose ExampleModel::*;
        filter hastype SysML::RequirementDefinition;

        view ID :> columnViews {
            attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::declaredShortName;
        }
        view Name :> columnViews {
            attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::declaredName;
        }
        view Doc :> columnViews {
            attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::documentation;
        }
        view 'Subject Name' :> columnViews {
            :>> columnFeature = Subject(baseViewElement);
            attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::name;
        }
        view 'Subject Doc' :> columnViews {
            :>> columnFeature = DefinitionsFirst(Subject(baseViewElement));
            attribute :>> featureRepresentation :> ColRep::documentation;
        }
    }
}

Opening myRequirementsTable in the SysMLv2 Views panel renders one row per requirement. The first three columns are three representations of the same row element, and the last two follow chains away from it: to the subject, and on to the subject’s definition:

and REQ-002 with ID, Name, Documentation, Subject Name, and Subject Documentation columns.

Learn more

• Table view structure - the anatomy of a table view: column attributes, table attributes, hierarchical tables

• Navigation chains - how a column navigates from the row element to the element it shows: steps, named navigations, fanning out rows

• Representations - what aspect of an element a column renders, cell outcomes, and which cells can be edited

• Common patterns - ready-made recipes for the most common columns

• Examples - complete, downloadable example tables together with the models they render

• Migrating from column types - updating views written using the retired featureToRender / ColumnType API