The SEDRIS Data Representation Model
APPENDIX A - Classes
Hierarchy Summary Item

Class Name: Hierarchy Summary Item

Superclass - <Base Summary Item>

Subclasses

This DRM class is concrete and has no subclasses.

Definition

An instance of this DRM class represents an instance, or a number of identical instances, of a <Geometry Hierarchy> instance or <Feature Hierarchy> instance that exists within the given <Model> instance or <Environment Root> instance. <Hierarchy Summary Item> instances are combined together to form hierarchies that mirror those that they summarize. This summary is a compressed form of the actual hierarchy, as each <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance may represent a number of instances of the class indicated by its drm_class field.

The multiplicity field records how many instances of the given class a <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance actually represents. All instances represented by one <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance shall have exactly the same hierarchical pattern beneath them, right down to where the hierarchy summary concludes. A <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance represents both the instance(s) that it describes, and the specific hierarchy beneath it. It may have an optional association to the <Geometry Hierarchy> instance(s) or <Feature Hierarchy> instance(s) that it summarizes.

Each <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance can optionally have a list of <EDCS Use Summary Item> components giving the classifications that are attached to those instances in the transmittal being summarized.

The hierarchy summary does not have to be a total representation of the entire transmittal hierarchy and can be limited to a useful high level summary. If the producer of the transmittal being summarized deems it of potential use to consumers, the branches of the hierarchy summary can terminate with a list of <DRM Class Summary Item> components representing the DRM objects beneath that point in the hierarchy.

Primary Page in DRM Diagram:

Secondary Pages in DRM Diagram:

Example

  1. Consider an <Environment Root> instance for which the geometry is to be summarized.

    Hierarchy Summary Item, Example 1, Diagram 1

    Figure 21 — <DRM Hierarchy Summary Item> example associated <DRM Environment Root>

    The geometry portion of the above <Environment Root> instance can therefore be summarized as follows. Note that this is the same <Environment Root> instance as shown above, but for readability only the <Hierarchy Summary Item> component tree portion of its instance diagram is shown here.

    Hierarchy Summary Item, Example 1, Diagram 2

    Figure 22 — <DRM Hierarchy Summary Item> example

    The <Hierarchy Summary Item> component tree depicted in Figure 22, rooted at the <Environment Root> instance depicted in Figure 21, parallels the structure of the corresponding geometry. In this instance, the data provider has elected not to provide a detailed summary of the structure of the <Union Of Geometry Hierarchy> instance. The list of <DRM Class Summary Item> components merely identify classes that are somewhere below the <Union Of Geometry Hierarchy> instance, rather than the patterns in which they appear.

    The <EDCS Use Summary Item> components summarize patterns of ECCs, possibly used together with EACs, in the context being summarized.

    If the data provider wished to summarize the hierarchy of the <Union Of Geometry Hierarchy> instance in detail, its <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance could be provided with appropriate <Hierarchy Summary Item> components as desired, until the summary reached the level of <Primitive Geometry> instances and the hierarchy summary came to an end.

    For examples of summaries of <Primitive Geometry> patterns, see <Primitive Summary Item>.

FAQs

If the intent is for a useful high level summary, why not just have the consumer perform a shallow breadth-first search?

The consumer could indeed compute the information, since all that this provides is a summary of what is in the transmittal. The reason for providing the information is to indicate that users do not have to be exhaustive if they do not think it is appropriate / required / necessary, or a good use of processing time, etc. Even just providing a top level summary, allows producers to summarize. They do not have to be complete in a legalistic way, and can therefore use this mechanism to summarize the major hierarchical structuring, perhaps leaving out less significant deviations from that predominant pattern. These would turn up in a search and actually confuse the issue. If you like, this mechanism allows a producer to sketch out the forest without missing it for the trees.

Why can <Environment Root> and <Model> only have 0 - 2 <Hierarchy Summary Item> components?

See <<Hierarchy Summary Constraints>>.

Constraints

Associated to (one-way)

Composed of (two-way)

Composed of (two-way metadata) (inherited)

Component of (two-way)

Inherited Field Elements

SE_DRM_Class

drm_class;

6

Field Elements

SE_HS_Multiplicity_Code

multiplicity_meaning;

7

SE_Integer_Unsigned

multiplicity;

8


Notes

Associated to Notes


Feature_Hierarchy

If present, the association(s) to <Feature Hierarchy> instances indicate that the <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance summarizes the specific <Feature Hierarchy> object tree(s) thus indicated.


Geometry_Hierarchy

If present, the association(s) to <Geometry Hierarchy> instances indicate that the <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance summarizes the specific <Geometry Hierarchy> object tree(s) thus indicated.

Composed of Notes


EDCS_Use_Summary_Item

If present, the list of <EDCS Use Summary Item> components of a <Base Summary Item> instance summarize EDCS usage by instances of the class specified by drm_class that occur somewhere in the scope being summarized.


DRM_Class_Summary_Item

If present, the <DRM Class Summary Item> components of a <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance list classes for which instances occur beneath this point in the hierarchy being summarized.


Hierarchy_Summary_Item

If present, the <Hierarchy Summary Item> components of a <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance summarize the next level down in the component tree of the hierarchy being summarized.

Fields Notes

drm_class

The drm_class field indicates the DRM class of the DRM object(s) represented by the <Base Summary Item> instance.

multiplicity_meaning

The multiplicity_meaning field specifies the meaning of the multiplicity field value for the <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance.

multiplicity

The multiplicity field specifies the number of identical instances represented, or the order of magnitude of that number, for the <Hierarchy Summary Item> instance. If the multiplicity is unknown, the value of this field shall be set to zero.


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