1.
Obtaining and installing the
SysMLHelperProfile for Mastering
MBSE through Rhapsody automation
MASTERING MBSE WITH IBM® RATIONAL® RHAPSODY®
V E R S I O N 1 – 0 9 D E C 2 0 1 6 www.mbsetraining.com
www.executablembse.com
www.rhapsodytraining.com

2.
Trademarks and the rest
• IBM, Rhapsody, DOORS, Rational are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.
• SysML, OMG Systems Modeling Language, OMG, Object Management Group, Unified
Modeling Language either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Object Management Group, Inc. in the
United States and/or other countries.
• Eclipse is a registered trademark of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc. in the United States, other
countries, or both.
• Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may
be trademarks of their respective owners.
• Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
• Images used under license from 123RF.com.
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 2

3.
FAQ
• What is the SysMLHelperProfile?
◦ The SysMLHelperProfile is an open-source plug-in for IBM Rational Rhapsody. It
consists of a set of Rhapsody profiles packaged into a Rhapsody super-profile
installed into the …/Share/Profiles folder. The profile has a Java plug-in that adds
new right-click commands to the Rhapsody menus
• Why was the plugin developed?
◦ It was originally developed to support delivery of Rhapsody MBSE/SysML training
(which required choices to be made in how to set up Rhapsody). However, this
morphed into achieving the goal of ‘making executable MBSE simple’
• What is the purpose?
◦ It introduces “10 minute” methods that aim make modellers productive within 1 hr
of being introduced to the tool (the simple bits, at least)
• Where can I get it?
◦ The profile (Rhapsody project and Java source and binaries can be obtained from
GitHub: https://github.com/fchadburn/mbsetraining). See later slides for
instructions on installation and re-compilation
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 3

4.
FAQ
• Who developed the plugin?
◦ The plugin was developed by Fraser Chadburn after leaving IBM (Rhapsody
technical specialist for IBM between 2008 and 2015)
• Where can I obtain information on how to use the plugin?
◦ Videos, tips and presentations will be posted to www.mbsetraining.com and
www.executablembse.com
• Is the plugin just for training?
◦ No
• What MBSE method does the plugin support?
◦ The plugin supports a tailoring of the IBM Harmony/SE process for automotive
application usage. The process (non-tool specific steps) are the same but the
tailoring includes relaxing some of the use case rules of the original Harmony/SE
method, allowing more focus on textual requirements, performing simulation
using more continuous/guard-based semantics, and modelling interfaces using
SysML flow-ports
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 4

5.
FAQ
• How big is the plugin?
◦ The plug-in is 12,000+ SLOC. It is written in Java
• How much does it cost?
◦ It is free
• Is there a warranty?
◦ The plugin is distributed under unmodified GNU Public License (GPL) terms which
explain that there is no warranty for this free software. For both users' and
authors' sake, the GPL requires that modified versions be marked as changed, so
that their problems will not be attributed erroneously to authors of previous
versions
• Can I distribute and customize it?
◦ Yes but you must comply to the terms of the GPL v3.0 license if you want to copy,
distribute and/or modify it (incl. copyright notices and license information). See:
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 5

6.
Obtaining the plugin
• Go to the GitHub library:
◦ https://github.com/fchadburn/mbsetraining
• To find the latest, navigate to the XX releases section
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 6

7.
Download the source code (zip)
• Locate the version you want
(usually the latest release)
• Click in the Downloads section
to download the Source code
(zip)
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 7

8.
Unzip to locate the SysMLHelper folder
• Locate the zip and unzip it (e.g. Extract to …) to locate the SysMLHelper
folder
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 8

9.
Copy into the …/Share/Profiles folder
• Copy the SysMLHelper folder. Paste folder into the …/Share/Profiles folder
in your Rhapsody user files installation
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 9
This will usually be under C:/<Username>/IBM/Ration
Rhapsody/8.x.x/… if the default (per user install was c
else check C:/ProgramData/… (for all users install)

10.
Which version?
• You can tell which version of the profile you have from the .txt files in the
SysMLHelper folder
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 10
Important: If you are
upgrading a previous
version of the profile, take
care to either delete the old
folder, or rename the old
profile folder so that it
alphabetically after ‘S’, e.g.,
you could call the old folder
xx2.2.29xxSysML. If you
don’t do this then Rhapsody
will use the old .sbs unit
path, even though you
select the new profile (you
may think you’re using the
new profile when you are
not!). Don’t rename the old

11.
Create a ‘SysMLHelperProfile’ project
• To test the plugin is located in the correct location, open Rhapsody
• Select SysMLHelperProfile as the Project Type
• Give the project a name (no spaces) and ensure that it’s in a writable folder
location
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 11

12.
Check the Log window
• Click OK and Yes to confirm creation
• If the plugin loaded successfully this should be seen in Rhapsody’s Log
window
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 12

13.
Create the RequirementsAnalysisPkg
• Right-click and choose MBSE Method: Requirements Analysis > Create the
RequirementsAnalysisPkg package structure
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 13

14.
View the model
• Confirm all the dialogs. The helper was installed
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 14

15.
Check path to unit is correct
• To verify the path to the profile is correct, right-click on the profile and
choose Unit > Edit Unit…
• The Directory should be under
$OMROOTProfilesSysMLHelper..
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 15

16.
RE-COMPILING
FOR LATER RHAPSODY VERSIONS
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 16

17.
Review versions
• The plugin includes both the source code and the binaries for the Java plug-
in. This means that it will work without needing to recompile but only if the
Rhapsody version matches the version the binaries expect (at the time of
press this was Rhapsody 8.1.3)
• If you want to run the plugin with a different version of Rhapsody then you
will need download Eclipse (with Java) and re-compile the Java against the
later Rhapsody API library, before distributing to users. This step needs to be
done by someone who has the Rhapsody version you want to use installed
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 17

18.
Download Eclipse IDE for Java
• If you don’t have it, obtain the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers from
http://www.eclipse.org/
• Unzip and run the eclipse IDE
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 18

19.
Create workspace
• Create a workspace (I usually create it in the Profiles folder as I then know
it’s related to the specific version of Rhapsody)
• Close the Welcome page (x) and choose
File > Import…
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 19

20.
Import Existing Project into Workspace
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 20
• Select General > Existing Projects into Workspace and click Next >
• Select the SysMLHelper and click
Finish

21.
Configure Build Path…
• We should expect to see some build errors due to missing rhapsody.jar file
that need resolving:
• Right-click the project
and choose Build Path >
Configure Build Path…
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 21

22.
Select the 32-bit rhapsody.jar
• In the Libraries tab select the rhapsody.jar and choose Edit…
• Browse to the rhapsody.jar (32 bit) in the …/Share/JavaAPI/ folder of the
installation (the assumption is that you are using Rhapsody 32 bit client)
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 22

23.
Fix the Native library location
• Correct the Native library
location > External Folder…
so that it also points to the
JavaAPI folder
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 23

24.
Check that error was removed
• The error should’ve been removed and the code recompiled (this is because
the Project has been set to Build Automatically)
• The profile should now work. Re-run the earlier test to check the version
number in the log window
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 24
Don’t worry and the JavaSE-1.7
execution environment.This is
fine (as it’s the version of Java
that Rhapsody aligns to)

25.
Who am I?
Fraser Chadburn
fraser.chadburn@mbsetraining.com
www.rhapsodytraining.com
Live in Kenilworth, Warwickshire
• Work history:
◦ British Aerospace Systems &
Equipment, Plymouth (fast-jet s/w)
◦ Raytheon Systems Canada, Vancouver
(CAATS ATMS)*
◦ Xerox Technical Centre Europe, WGC
(Multifunction devices)*
◦ WWG/Acterna, Plymouth (Telecoms)*
◦ DS&S, Derby (Rail)*
◦ Artisan Software Tools, Cheltenham
(UML/SysML Tool Vendor)**
◦ Telelogic / IBM Rational UK, Warwick
(Tool Vendor)**
◦ Working for Jaguar Land
Rover/Daimler AG/MIRA Horiba
(MBSE)**
• Other points: PGCE (Cambridge)
Dec 9, 2016 OBTAIN AND INSTALL THE SYSMLHELPER PROFILE 25