TCC - Built-in parameters node - Right hand panel

Built-in parameters node - Right hand panel

The Built-in parameters node is only available in the Data Entities node. This section lists:

Built-in types for data entities > a set of object types that are ALWAYS considered as Data Functions - this list is predefined by CAST
FK/PK analysis: table prefixes to exclude > this section allows you to define a list of prefixes that are used to name your SQL tables. Any prefix on the list will be excluded when the CAST Transaction Configuration Center algorithm attempts to detect data functions from SQL tables using Foreign key (FK) and Primary Key (PK) relationships
Names of tables to exclude (case insensitive regular expressions) > this section allows you to define criteria based on Regular Expressions that are used to match specific table names. All matching objects will not be considered Data Functions at all.

Summary of right hand panel options:

Built-in types for data entities

The list of built-in types for data entities is predefined by CAST. Object types that appear in this list are always considered Data Entities (e.g.: SQL Tables etc.) and have predefined Function Point values that cannot be modified. Note the following:

You cannot create new, edit, or delete any entries in this list.
Object types that appear in this list are NOT available for selection in the sibling By naming, By inheritance and By type nodes of the parent Data Entities, End points, Entry Points, Excluded Items nodes nodes - in other words, it is not possible to create a set (Template or specific) that defines one of these Object Types, except via the Free definition node (see below). This is because all objects matching any of the types in this list are ALWAYS detected and taken into account using their built-in and non-modifiable Function Point values defined by CAST's internal algorithm.
Objects that appear in this list are available for selection in the sibling Free definition node. This is because you may need to define specific and complex relations that include the objects already listed in Built-in types for data entities.

Generate data record object sets > See Generate sets for more information about this option.

FK/PK analysis: table prefixes to exclude

This section allows you to define a list of prefixes that are used to name your SQL tables. Any prefix on the list will be excluded when the CAST Transaction Configuration Center algorithm attempts to detect data functions from SQL tables using Foreign key (FK) and Primary Key (PK) relationships.

So if all or a majority of your tables use a naming convention that includes prefixes such as "T_" and "DT_" (for example), you need to add these prefixes to the list so that they are excluded and unrelated tables are not grouped together.

To add a new prefix:

Right click the right hand Configuration panel and select New line from the contextual menu
A new entry (entitled "New") will be displayed.
Edit the field to enter the table prefix. Double click the field to invoke the text editor.

Names of tables to exclude (case insensitive regular expressions)

This section allows you to define criteria based on Regular Expressions that are used to match specific table names. All matching tables will NOT be considered Data Entities at all:

The section will be pre-populated with rules pre-defined by CAST. These pre-defined rules target table names that should never be taken into account by the CAST Transaction Configuration Center, for example tables containing the words "temp", "session", "error" etc. This is in line with the OMG CISQ AFP Specifications.

To add a new Regular Expression:

Right click anywhere in the section and select New line from the contextual menu:
A new entry (entitled "New") will be displayed.
Edit the Description of the rule and then enter your Regular Expression.
You can find out more about defining Regular Expressions in Use Regular Expressions.

Note:

- that ONLY server side tables will be returned by the Regular Expression. All other objects are not taken into account.

Reset defaults > Use this button to reset the list to the rules pre-defined by CAST. Any rules you have defined yourself will be removed.

Generate excluded tables > This option will produce a list of the tables that are being excluded and not considered as Data Entities:

The Filtered By column shows whether the table is being excluded due to a default rule (LOOKUP TABLE ALGORITHM) or by a custom Regular Expression (REGULAR EXPRESSION) as shown in the image above.

OMG CISQ AFP Specifications for Data Entities

By default, CAST will pre-populate the Names of tables to exclude (case insensitive regular expressions) with a set of pre-defined rules to EXCLUDE certain objects from being considered as Data Entities. These pre-defined rules are in line with the OMG CISQ AFP Specifications for Data Entities.

In addition, the OMG CISQ AFP Specifications dictate that other database tables (over and above the pre-defined rules discussed above) should NOT be considered as Data Entities. These objects are those with a lookup structure that match the following criteria:

Have one primary key
Optionally, have (only) one integer attribute to support order (a single integer attribute is allowed to support indexing and sorting the lookup data)
Have no other database table with a cascade delete relation to it
Have less than three text attributes or have a set of text attributes whose names match name, message, type, code, description, desc, or label.

Objects that match all of the above criteria will NOT be considered as Data Entities. This behaviour cannot be altered or overridden. This explains why some database tables are never displayed as Data Entities in the CAST Transaction Configuration Center. This behaviour can be altered in the Computation Configuration dialog - see Compute for more information.