Altova UModel 2025 Enterprise Edition

Variables

Any non-trivial SPL file will require variables. Some variables are predefined by the code generator, and new variables may be created simply by assigning values to them.

The $ character is used when declaring or using a variable, a variable name is always prefixed by $. Variable names are case sensitive.

Variables types:

•integer - also used as boolean, where 0 is false and everything else is true

•string

•object - provided by UModel

•iterator - see foreach statement

Variable types are declared by first assignment:

[$x = 0]

x is now an integer.

[$x = "teststring"]

x is now treated as a string.

Strings

String constants are always enclosed in double quotes, like in the example above. \n and \t inside double quotes are interpreted as newline and tab, \" is a literal double quote, and \\ is a backslash. String constants can also span multiple lines.

String concatenation uses the & character:

[$BasePath = $outputpath & "/" & $JavaPackageDir]

Objects

Objects represent the information contained in the UModel project. Objects have properties, which can be accessed using the . operator. It is not possible to create new objects in SPL (they are predefined by the code generator, derived from the input), but it is possible to assign objects to variables.

Example:

class [=$class.Name]

This example outputs the word "class", followed by a space and the value of the Name property of the $class object.

The following table shows the relationship between UML elements their SPL equivalents along with a short description.

Predefined variables

UML element	SPL property	Multiplicity	UML Attribute / Association	UModel Attribute / Association	Description
BehavioralFeature	isAbstract		isAbstract:Boolean
BehavioralFeature	raisedException	*	raisedException:Type
BehavioralFeature	ownedParameter	*	ownedParameter:Parameter
BehavioredClassifier	interfaceRealization	*	interfaceRealization:InterfaceRealization
Class	ownedOperation	*	ownedOperation:Operation
Class	nestedClassifier	*	nestedClassifier:Classifier
Classifier	namespace	*		namespace:Package	packages with code language <<namespace>> set
Classifier	rootNamespace	*		project root namespace:String	VB only - root namespace
Classifier	generalization	*	generalization:Generalization
Classifier	isAbstract		isAbstract:Boolean
ClassifierTemplateParameter	constrainingClassifier	*	constrainingClassifier
Comment	body		body:String
DataType	ownedAttribute	*	ownedAttribute:Property
DataType	ownedOperation	*	ownedOperation:Operation
Element	kind			kind:String
Element	owner	0..1	owner:Element
Element	appliedStereotype	*		appliedStereotype:StereotypeApplication	applied stereotypes
Element	ownedComment	*	ownedComment:Comment
ElementImport	importedElement	1	importedElement:PackageableElement
Enumeration	ownedLiteral	*	ownedLiteral:EnumerationLiteral
Enumeration	nestedClassifier	*		nestedClassifier::Classifier
Enumeration	interfaceRealization	*		interfaceRealization:Interface
EnumerationLiteral	ownedAttribute	*		ownedAttribute:Property
EnumerationLiteral	ownedOperation	*		ownedOperation:Operation
EnumerationLiteral	nestedClassifier	*		nestedClassifier:Classifier
Feature	isStatic		isStatic:Boolean
Generalization	general	1	general:Classifier
Interface	ownedAttribute	*	ownedAttribute:Property
Interface	ownedOperation	*	ownedOperation:Operation
Interface	nestedClassifier	*	nestedClassifier:Classifier
InterfaceRealization	contract	1	contract:Interface
MultiplicityElement	lowerValue	0..1	lowerValue:ValueSpecification
MultiplicityElement	upperValue	0..1	upperValue:ValueSpecification
NamedElement	name		name:String
NamedElement	visibility		visibility:VisibilityKind
NamedElement	isPublic			isPublic:Boolean	visibility <public>
NamedElement	isProtected			isProtected:Boolean	visibility <protected>
NamedElement	isPrivate			isPrivate:Boolean	visibility <private>
NamedElement	isPackage			isPackage:Boolean	visibility <package>
NamedElement	namespacePrefix			namespacePrefix:String	XSD only - namespace prefix when exists
NamedElement	parseableName			parseableName:String	CSharp, VB only - name with escaped keywords (@)
Namespace	elementImport	*	elementImport:ElementImport
Operation	ownedReturnParameter	0..1		ownedReturnParameter:Parameter	parameter with direction return set
Operation	type	0..1		type	type of parameter with direction return set
Operation	ownedOperationParameter	*		ownedOperationParameter:Parameter	all parameters excluding parameter with direction return set
Operation	implementedInterface	1		implementedInterface:Interface	CSharp only - the implemented interface
Operation	ownedOperationImplementations	*		implementedOperation:OperationImplementation	VB only - the implemented interfaces/operations
OperationImplementation	implementedOperationOwner	1		implementedOperationOwner:Interface	interface implemented by the operation
OperationImplementation	implementedOperationName			name:String	name of the implemented operation
OperationImplementation	implementedOperationParseableName			parseableName:String	name of the implemented operation with escaped keywords
Package	namespace	*		namespace:Package	packages with code language <<namespace>> set
PackageableElement	owningPackage	0..1		owningPackage	set if owner is a package
PackageableElement	owningNamespacePackage	0..1		owningNamespacePackage:Package	owning package with code language <<namespace>> set
Parameter	direction		direction:ParameterDirectionKind
Parameter	isIn			isIn:Boolean	direction <in>
Parameter	isInOut			isInOut:Boolean	direction <inout>
Parameter	isOut			isOut:Boolean	direction <out>
Parameter	isReturn			isReturn:Boolean	direction <return>
Parameter	isVarArgList			isVarArgList:Boolean	true if parameter is a variable argument list
Parameter	defaultValue	0..1	defaultValue:ValueSpecification
Property	defaultValue	0..1	defaultValue:ValueSpecification
RedefinableElement	isLeaf		isLeaf:Boolean
Slot	name			name:String	name of the defining feature
Slot	values	*	value:ValueSpecification
Slot	value			value:String	value of the first value specification
StereotypeApplication	name			name:String	name of applied stereotype
StereotypeApplication	taggedValue	*		taggedValue:Slot	first slot of the instance specification
StructuralFeature	isReadOnly		isReadOnly
StructuredClassifier	ownedAttribute	*	ownedAttribute:Property
TemplateBinding	signature	1	signature:TemplateSignature
TemplateBinding	parameterSubstitution	*	parameterSubstitution:TemplateParameterSubstitution
TemplateParameter	paramDefault			paramDefault:String	template parameter default value
TemplateParameter	ownedParameteredElement	1	ownedParameteredElement:ParameterableElement
TemplateParameterSubstitution	parameterSubstitution			parameterSubstitution:String	Java only - code wildcard handling
TemplateParameterSubstitution	parameterDimensionCount			parameterDimensionCount:Integer	code dimension count of the actual parameter
TemplateParameterSubstitution	actual	1	OwnedActual:ParameterableElement
TemplateParameterSubstitution	formal	1	formal:TemplateParameter
TemplateSignature	template	1	template:TemplateableElement
TemplateSignature	ownedParameter	*	ownedParameter:TemplateParameter
TemplateableElement	isTemplate			isTemplate:Boolean	true if template signature set
TemplateableElement	ownedTemplateSignature	0..1	ownedTemplateSignature:TemplateSignature
TemplateableElement	templateBinding	*	templateBinding:TemplateBinding
Type	typeName	*		typeName:PackageableElement	qualified code type names
TypedElement	type	0..1	type:Type
TypedElement	postTypeModifier			postTypeModifier:String	postfix code modifiers
ValueSpecification	value			value:String	string value of the value specification

Adding a prefix to attributes of a class during code generation

You might need to prefix all new attributes with the "m_" characters in your project.

All new coding elements are written using the SPL templates. For example, if you open UModelSPL\C#[Java]\Default\Attribute.spl, you can change the way the name is written. Namely, you can replace

write $Property.name

with

write "m_" & $Property.name

It is highly recommended that you immediately update your model from code after code generation, to ensure that code and model are synchronized.

Note:

As previously mentioned, copy the SPL templates one directory higher (i.e. above the default directory to UModelSPL\C#) before modifying them. This ensures that they are not overwritten when you install a new version of UModel. Please make sure that the "user-defined override default" check box is activated in the Code from Model tab of the "Synchronization Settings" dialog box.

SPL Templates

SPL templates can be specified per UModel project using the menu option Project | Project Settings (as shown in the screenshot below). Relative paths are also supported. Templates which are not found in the specified directory, are searched for in the local default directory.

Global objects

$Options	an object holding global options:
	generateComments:bool generate doc comments (true/false)
$Indent	a string used to indent generated code and represent the current nesting level
$IndentStep	a string, used to indent generated code and represent one nesting level
$NamespacePrefix	XSD only – the target namespace prefix if present

String manipulation routines

integer Compare(s)

The return value indicates the lexicographic relation of the string to s (case sensitive):

<0:	the string is less than s
0:	the string is identical to s
>0:	the string is greater than s

integer CompareNoCase(s)

The return value indicates the lexicographic relation of the string to s (case insensitive):

<0:	the string is less than s
0:	the string is identical to s
>0:	the string is greater than s

integer Find(s)

Searches the string for the first match of a substring s. Returns the zero-based index of the first character of s or -1 if s is not found.

string Left(n)

Returns the first n characters of the string.

integer Length()

Returns the length of the string.

string MakeUpper()

Returns a string converted to upper case.

string MakeUpper(n)

Returns a string, with the first n characters converted to upper case.

string MakeLower()

Returns a string converted to lower case.

string MakeLower(n)

Returns a string, with the first n characters converted to lower case.

string Mid(n)

Returns a string starting with the zero-based index position n

string Mid(n,m)

Returns a string starting with the zero-based index position n and the length m

string RemoveLeft(s)

Returns a string excluding the substring s if Left( s.Length() ) is equal to substring s.

string RemoveLeftNoCase(s)

Returns a string excluding the substring s if Left( s.Length() ) is equal to substring s (case insensitive).

string RemoveRight(s)

Returns a string excluding the substring s if Right( s.Length() ) is equal to substring s.

string RemoveRightNoCase(s)

Returns a string excluding the substring s if Right( s.Length() ) is equal to substring s (case insensitive).

string Repeat(s,n)

Returns a string containing substring s repeated n times.

string Right(n)

Returns the last n characters of the string.