Creating a Domain
From the Domain Architect press the New button to define a domain. You specify the following domain values (in the specified order):
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Domain name: The name you assign to a domain must be unique for the current namespace (not just unique within its package class). A domain name may be of any length and contain any typeable characters, including spaces (the % character is valid, but should be avoided). Domain names are not case-sensitive. However, because Domain Architect uses the domain name to generate a default domain definition class name, it is recommended that you follow class naming conventions when naming a domain, unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise.
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Definition class name: the domain definition package name and class name, separated by a period. If you first specified the domain name, clicking on the Definition class name generates default names for the domain definition package and class. The package name defaults to User. The class name defaults to the domain name, stripped of non-alphanumeric characters. You can accept or modify this default.
A valid package name and a valid class name can contain only alphanumeric characters, and are case-sensitive. Specifying a package name that differs from an existing package name only in lettercase results in an error. Within a package, specifying a class name that differs from an existing class name only in lettercase results in an error.
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Allow Custom Updates: optionally select this box if you wish to enable adding data or dictionaries to this domain manually; the default is to not allow custom updates.
Click the Finish button to create the domain. This displays the Model Elements selection screen.
You must Save and Compile a newly created domain before exiting that domain.
If you attempt to create a duplicate domain name, the Domain Architect issues a “Domain name already in use” error.
For other ways to create a domain, refer to NLP Domains. Note that Domain Architect is the only domain creation interface that allows you to define a domain definition package name and class name.
Opening a Domain
Creating a domain using the Management Portal interface immediately opens the domain, allowing you to begin immediately to manage this new domain.
To manage an existing domain, click the Open button to list all existing domains in the namespace. This display lists the packages that contain domains. Select a package to display its domains. Select an existing domain. This displays the Model Elements selection screen.
Modifying a Domain Definition
Creating or opening a domain displays the Model Elements window. If you click on the domain name in this window, the Details tab displays the Domain Name field, the Domain Tables Package field, and the Allow Custom Updates and Disabled check boxes. You can modify these characteristics of the domain:
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Changing the Domain Name changes the Model Elements display name. It does not change the Definition class name displayed by the Open domain button.
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Specifying the Domain Tables Package causes table projections of the domain’s data to be generated in the specified package.
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Selecting the Allow Custom Updates check box allows the manual loading of data sources and dictionaries into this domain using interfaces other than Domain Architect.
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Selecting the Disabled check box prevents the loading of all data (source data, metadata, dictionary matching data) during the Build operation. Each of these types of data also has its own Disabled check box that allows you to disable loading of each types of data separately.
You must Save and Compile a renamed domain before exiting that domain.
Deleting a Domain
To delete the current domain, click the Delete button. This displays the Drop domain data window. you can either delete just the domain contents or delete the domain definition. Click Drop domain & definition class to delete the domain and its associated class definition, including the specifications of data sources, skiplists, and other model elements.
