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QAT Function Manager FAQ

Are there any function libraries currently available?

Yes. QA Technologies has developed a robust set of Function Libraries that can be easily imported into your model using QAT Function Manager and deployed in your environment, such as XML Handling, File Handling, Specialized Formatting and several other miscellaneous functions.

What are Custom Functions?

Custom Functions are new statements available for use in Action Diagrams. They are an effective alternative to External Action Blocks that implement functionality not provided by an original "out-of-the-box" CA Gen installation.

How are Custom Functions made available within a CA Gen model?

Custom Functions are registered in a CA Gen model by creating the necessary function signature within the model. Once registered, the functions are available to anyone that has access to that model.

What are the benefits of Custom Functions and how do they differ from External Action Blocks?

Custom Functions

Available in all subsets without scoping.
Bound to a domain only (i.e. Text) so you can pass any view with same domain.
Return values can be used as arguments to other functions and statements.
QAT Custom Function Manager automates the consumption and management of internal and third party function libraries.

External Action Blocks (EABs)

Must be explicitly scoped.
Bound to a Gen view (i.e. import entity or workset view) so you must pass the same view.
Return values cannot be used as arguments to other functions or statements.
No automation for third party library consumption.

Custom Functions are implemented with runtime libraries, and behave just like any other native Gen function. Once registered, they must be deployed one time and are always available for use. Select the function from the list, provide its parameters, and go!

Are there any customers benefiting from Custom Functions today?

Yes. The experts at QA Technologies have been successfully using Custom Functions within several customers for over two years. QA Technologies offers two products (QAT Publisher and QAT Exchange) that were developed using Custom Functions which are running in customer applications today. There are also several custom functions that were specifically developed at the request of clients that are enhancing the functionality of their applications.

How does Custom Function Manager Work?

The main window has two distinct areas:

The available custom functions are displayed in the left pane. Libraries containing custom functions can be purchased from third parties and imported, or you may define your own functions and libraries using the tool.
The right pane displays the functions that are registered in the currently open CA Gen model. This pane can also be used to display the description for any selected function.

Registering a function to a model is simple and easy: Just select the desired function, click Register and you're on your way.

Once a function has been registered, simply exit from QAT Function Manager and open your Action Diagram.
The newly registered function(s) will be available for use within your own statements just as you would with native Gen functions such as concat and substr.
Use QAT Function Manager to generate the source stubs for your native language C, Java, .NET or COBOL where you can complete the code and compile into runtime libraries.
At implementation, the associated function libraries are deployed to the environment for runtime execution. Deploy the function one time and use it like any other function from that point forward.