Building Models¶

Model Container¶

Model is the top-level container for all ArchiMate concepts:

from etcion import Model

model = Model()
print(len(model))  # 0

You can also pass concepts at construction time:

model = Model(concepts=[actor, service, serving])

Access contents via properties:

model.elements -- all elements in insertion order
model.relationships -- all relationships in insertion order
model.concepts -- all concepts (elements + relationships)
model[id] -- look up a concept by its UUID

Adding Elements¶

Each ArchiMate layer has its own element types. All elements require a name:

from etcion import (
    BusinessActor, BusinessService, BusinessProcess,
    ApplicationComponent, ApplicationService,
    Node, Device, Artifact,
)

actor = BusinessActor(name="Customer")
service = BusinessService(name="Order Service")
app = ApplicationComponent(name="CRM System")
server = Node(name="Production Server")

model = Model()
model.add(actor)
model.add(service)

Elements also accept an optional description and id:

actor = BusinessActor(
    name="Customer",
    description="External retail customer",
)

Adding Relationships¶

Relationships connect a source concept to a target concept. The 11 ArchiMate relationship types are:

Type	Category
`Composition`, `Aggregation`, `Assignment`, `Realization`	Structural
`Serving`, `Access`, `Influence`	Dependency
`Triggering`, `Flow`	Dynamic
`Association`, `Specialization`	Other

from etcion import Serving, Realization, Flow

serving = Serving(name="supports", source=app_service, target=business_service)
realization = Realization(name="realizes", source=app, target=app_service)
flow = Flow(name="order data", source=process_a, target=process_b)

Not all source/target combinations are valid. Use is_permitted() to check:

from etcion import is_permitted

is_permitted(Serving, ApplicationService, BusinessService)  # True

Junction¶

Junction is a relationship connector that joins multiple relationships of the same type:

from etcion import Junction, JunctionType, Triggering

junction = Junction(junction_type=JunctionType.AND)

Junctions must be homogeneous -- all connected relationships must be the same type. Model.validate() enforces this rule.

Grouping and Location¶

Grouping and Location are composite elements that span layers:

from etcion import Grouping, Location

hq = Location(name="Headquarters")
infra_group = Grouping(name="Infrastructure")