UML Diagram not generated

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cpt_kirk
Posts: 6
Joined: 12 Jul 2012, 13:30

Hello,

I have a little problem and I cannot identified its cause.

I cannot get UML diagram generated (for instance in the Application Data Dependencies View), I just get a blue text saying "UML Model" and the 3 buttons for zooming.

I have tried to look around to find the reason of the problem but the only things relevant in the log file is:

"Jul 23, 2012 11:34:57 AM org.apache.tomcat.util.http.Parameters processParameters
INFO: Invalid chunk starting at byte [114] and ending at byte [114] with a value of [null] ignored"

Is there a way to get a more verbose log?

Thanks!
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Hi - thanks for your post.

Can I start by getting a clear picture of your installation?

We use a 3rd-party component called GraphViz to render the UML models and the fact that you are not getting an image except for "UML Model" suggests that the Viewer has failed to invoke the GraphViz component.

Have you installed GraphViz and if so, did you install it to the default location?

Apologies if you've done all that and other UML Models are rendering properly.

Thanks

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
cpt_kirk
Posts: 6
Joined: 12 Jul 2012, 13:30

Hello,

Thanks for your answer. I thought that the problem might be cause by the GraphViz.

I initially installed it in a different location and I set up the environment variable, but it was not working.

So (breaking local rules :? ) I installed it in the default location, and removed the environment variable but I had no more success.

The current path of installation is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\
and the dot.exe is located:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe

I can see that this path differs from the installation manual that specify:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz*\dot.exe

So I created a shortcut with the installation manual path point to my installation but it was not working either.

I also created a GRAPHVIZ_DOT pointing to the default location, but it had not change.

The only I can say, is that the error message from Tomcat is not related to the UML diagram generation, and is generated when I access the Application Data Dependency Model View.

Is there a way to have a debug log to help to understand from where the problem might be coming?
cpt_kirk
Posts: 6
Joined: 12 Jul 2012, 13:30

Ok so it seems that I'm the only one with this problem :D

So in order to troubleshoot it, can you tell me how I can enable a debug log on the different components?

Unfortunately, in production mode, the log files don't provide any meaningful information.
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

Let's see if we can help debug and understand whether it's an installation issue, a content/repository issue or a bug with the view.

Would it be possible to post a screenshot of the error you're getting? I'd be able to narrow the bug down by understanding visually what's getting rendered. (use the upload attachment feature when you post a reply or link to an image in dropbox or similar)

Can you run the following from a command line and let me know the exact output This will provide us information about where PlantUML is expecting to find dot:

Code: Select all

java -jar plantuml.jar -testdot
There are no "switches" to enable a debug log in this instance. You can look in the catalina.out file of tomcat or the console to see if you're getting any documented errors.

If you get back with this info, I should be able to steer you in the right direction.

Thanks

Neil
cpt_kirk
Posts: 6
Joined: 12 Jul 2012, 13:30

Here is the requested information:

If I run your command, everything look fine:

Code: Select all

]E:\Program Files (x86)\apache-tomcat-6.0.35-windows-x64\apache-tomcat-6.0.35\webapps\essential_viewer\WEB-INF\lib>
va -jar plantuml.jar -testdot
The environment variable GRAPHVIZ_DOT has been set to C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe
Dot executable is C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe
Dot version: dot - graphviz version 2.26.3 (20100126.1600)
Installation seems OK. PNG generation OK
PS E:\Program Files (x86)\apache-tomcat-6.0.35-windows-x64\apache-tomcat-6.0.35\webapps\essential_viewer\WEB-INF\lib>
Now here is the result from the essential viewer. I have the same result with other UML generated report:
screen_copy.png
I'm pretty sure this is just caused by a simple configuration issue, but I cannot spot it.
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Apologies for not getting back to you on this before now.

From the test that Neil asked you to perform, it seems that GraphViz is installed properly.

We can test to see if the images are in fact being generated, in case this is a problem with the View URLs rather than the UML generation.

Could you have a look in the folder in your Tomcat install:
webapps/essential_viewer/graph_images/uml
This is where the generated UML images are cached.
Are there any PNG files in this folder?

If not, it could be that there's not enough content in the model to render the UML.

Let me know about the graph_images/uml folder and then we can look into what's in the model.

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

How much content is enough to render the UML?

I have the same problem.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
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Hi Gian Piero,

The answer to this would depend on which UML model you're looking at but usually two application dependencies with a relationship would be enough.

Can you verify you've installed Graphviz v2.26 in the default location?

Can you run the following command to verify the install and report back the results

Code: Select all

java -jar plantuml.jar -testdot
Thanks

Neil
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi Neal,

Here is the output you asked:

Code: Select all

C:\Users\Administrator>java -jar "\Program Files (x86)\Apache Softw
B-INF\lib\plantuml.jar" -testdot
The environment variable GRAPHVIZ_DOT has not been set
Dot executable is c:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe
Dot version: dot - graphviz version 2.26.3 (20100126.1600)
Installation seems OK. PNG generation OK
This folder is empty:

Code: Select all

webapps/essential_viewer/graph_images/uml
This is the model in Protègè
Image

This is what I get in the viewer:
Image

Thanks in advance.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

The logs suggest the environment variable GRAPHVIZ_DOT has not been set.

Here's a link that describes what is required as part of the overall installation
http://www.enterprise-architecture.org/downloads?id=208

You may need to Google how to set an environment variable depending on your specific OS.

Thanks

Neil
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi,

I just created the variable end tested without positive results:

Code: Select all

B-INF\lib\plantuml.jar" -testdot
The environment variable GRAPHVIZ_DOT has been set to C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe
Dot executable is C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.26.3\bin\dot.exe
Dot version: dot - graphviz version 2.26.3 (20100126.1600)
Installation seems OK. PNG generation OK
I omitted create that variable during installation because according to the documentation, it was not necessary to create it if Graphviz was installed in the default path (c: \ Program Files \ Graphviz * \ dot.exe or c: \ Program Files (x86) \ Graphviz * \ dot.exe)

Thanks for your help.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

Did you republish after doing the environment variable. The publish process clears the UML model cache so they are regenerated again.

Can you republish and report back.

Thanks

Neil
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi Neil,

I edited the model by adding an additional element to ensure PlantUml regenerate the picture but keep getting the same result:

Image

Is there any log file for PlantUML?

Thanks
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Hi,

That message that you've highlighted is unrelated to the rendering of the UML diagrams. What you've highlighted is a capability that turns your graphical models in Protege into PNG files that we can render in the Viewer. However, we have been moving away from this approach towards dynamically-rendered images in the views - and this is the case for the UML models.

The current out-of-the-box (v4.3.1) Application Provider and Technology Product summary views use the old-style PNG snapshot of the diagram in Protege and are not generating UML-style models.

The Technology Platform Model on the Application Provider menu in Viewer should render your technology architecture in UML form (assuming that the model is wired up accordingly).

That you are not getting any graphical image snapshots (PNG format) sent as part of the publishing process is a concern - assuming that you do have some graphical models, each should be snapshotted and transmitted to Viewer. Are there any errors reported in the Protege logs or to the Protege console window?

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi Jonathan,

That's a really good clarification.

I'm not trying to render my own graphical models in the viewer.

The problem is I'm not getting graphical images snapshots for the Product Architecture model used in Application Provider and Technology Product summary views. The component model used in The Technology Platform Model view is correctly rendered.

As you can see in my previous posts in this trhead I'm not getting publication errors and yes, I have graphical models defined.

Thanks.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Thanks for the clarification.

Good to know that there's nothing reported on the publishing tab. However, is Protege reporting anything that's not being shown in the GUI? On Windows, there's a Protege console window that can sometimes show errors that are otherwise not reported to the GUI. Do you see any exceptions in there?

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi,

This is the client console while publishing:

Image

This is the server console while publishing:

Image

Thanks.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Thanks for these. Nothing being reported about issues with publishing the snapshot images of your graphical models.

I'll continue to look into this

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

Would you be able to send a snapshot of your repository to our support team for review to help us address this.

You can send the files to support at e-asolutions dot com

We will treat any content confidentially and use the files only for debugging purposes.

Thanks

Neil
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neil.walsh
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Hi Gian Piero,

Thanks for sending us the sample repository.

I’ve taken a look at your repository and on our machines this publishes without issue and sends 2 images.

In the Viewer, I can see the two different models you created

The Logical Technology Build section shows a rendering of the graph image direct from Protege. This is a PNG file that is sent during the publish process. This file is stored in the “graph_images" folder of the Viewer webapp.

The Technology Platform Model is built dynamically using a library called PlantUML which makes use of the GraphViz library. When you first visit this page the view creates the PNG image and saves this to the "graph_images/uml" folder of the Viewer webapp.

Both appear to be working correctly.

This means there is an issue with your deployment rather than your modelling.

After publishing, do you see any images in the “graph_images" folder of the Viewer webapp?

Do you have full administrator privileges for the folder where you have installed Tomcat? If you have installed Tomcat in the default directory (Program Files), you may have limited write privileges to this folder by default. You may need to either move the location of Tomcat to a place where you have full administrator access or increase the privileges for the current folder to allow the image files to be written during publish.

Let me know how you get on

Thanks

Neil
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gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi Neil,

I checked write privileges on graph_images folder creating a file folder inside it. Although I think if we had privileges problems we could not publish any content at all, but we are able to publish the UML model and other contents to the viewer. Do you agree with me?

Turning to the publishing tab in Protègè, I can see in your screenshot report about 2 images sent, in my case I see 0 images sent. Would that means images are not even geeting out Protègè?

Thanks a lot
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Although I think if we had privileges problems we could not publish any content at all, but we are able to publish the UML model and other contents to the viewer. Do you agree with me?
Your logic makes sense but it's worth setting the write privileges to rule that out.

You could try running the Essential installer again and just choosing to reinstall the widgets and tabs.

Thanks

Neil
gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi,

In order to make sure we have the needed rights I used the Windows explorer Effective Access Analisys tool. Here are the results:

Image

Image

Image

GDAMICO user account is a member of the local Administrators group.

After running the Essential installer as you recommend to do, I tried again without positive results:

Image

Thanks for your help.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi Gian Piero,

I've sent you a URL privately for testing

Can you try publishing to this URL from Protege?

Can you let me know asap if this is successful

Thanks

Neil
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
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Hi Gian Piero,

The fact you can publish to our server indicates that the issue is with the deployment of your Tomcat.

The most likely culprit is a permissions one. I’d suggest reinstalling Tomcat into a location where you have full read write privileges. In a production environment, this might be a different partition e.g. a D: drive.

Otherwise I’d suggest looking again at the permissions.

Navigate to the webapps folder of your Tomcat installation
Right click and choose properties
Click the security tab
Ensure “write” is checked

Let me know how you get on

Thanks

Neil
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

One other thing to check is that Tomcat is running as "System" user. This is the default but if you're starting Tomcat manually (rather than as a service) it's possible it's running as a different user which might cause permissions issues.

You can check this from the System Tray icon (Windows bottom right near clock) or by running the "Monitor Tomcat" application

Cheers

Neil
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gdamico
Posts: 32
Joined: 21 Oct 2015, 22:20
Location: Venezuela

Hi,

By auditting access to the webapps folder I've been able to rule out permission problems. Once discarded that, I downgraded from Tomcat 8 to Tomcat 7 and finally the images were successfully sent:

Image

I guess that we have a new item to add to the Essential and Tomcat 8 issues list.

I'm really gratefull for your invaluable help.
Gian Piero D'Amico
Enterprise Architect
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jonathan.carter
Posts: 1087
Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44

Thanks for this feedback we'll look into this further

Jonathan
Essential Project Team
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