TBoldElement¶

TBoldElement is the abstract base class for all elements in the Bold framework. It provides common functionality for string representation, comparison, assignment, and subscription.

Class Definition¶

TBoldElement = class(TBoldSubscribableObject)
public
  // String representation
  property AsString: string;
  property DisplayName: string;
  function GetStringRepresentation(Representation: TBoldRepresentation): string;
  procedure SetStringRepresentation(Representation: TBoldRepresentation; const Value: string);

  // Comparison
  function CompareTo(BoldElement: TBoldElement): Integer;
  function IsEqual(BoldElement: TBoldElement): Boolean;

  // Assignment
  procedure Assign(Source: TBoldElement);
  function IsEqualAs(CompareType: TBoldCompareType; BoldElement: TBoldElement): Boolean;

  // OCL evaluation
  function EvaluateExpression(const Expression: string): TBoldElement;
  function EvaluateExpressionAsNewElement(const Expression: string): TBoldElement;

  // Mutability
  property Mutable: Boolean;
end;

Inheritance¶

classDiagram
    TBoldSubscribableObject <|-- TBoldElement
    TBoldElement <|-- TBoldDomainElement
    TBoldElement <|-- TBoldSystem
    TBoldDomainElement <|-- TBoldObject
    TBoldDomainElement <|-- TBoldMember

    TBoldElement : +AsString
    TBoldElement : +CompareTo()
    TBoldElement : +EvaluateExpression()

    click TBoldSystem href "../TBoldSystem/" "TBoldSystem documentation"
    click TBoldObject href "../TBoldObject/" "TBoldObject documentation"
    click TBoldMember href "../TBoldMember/" "TBoldMember documentation"

Properties¶

AsString¶

Universal string representation:

var
  Element: TBoldElement;
begin
  ShowMessage(Element.AsString);
end;

DisplayName¶

Human-readable name for display purposes:

ShowMessage('Working with: ' + Element.DisplayName);

Mutable¶

Indicates whether the element can be modified:

if Element.Mutable then
  Element.AsString := 'New Value';

Methods¶

CompareTo¶

Compare two elements:

var
  Result: Integer;
begin
  Result := Element1.CompareTo(Element2);
  // Result < 0: Element1 < Element2
  // Result = 0: Element1 = Element2
  // Result > 0: Element1 > Element2
end;

IsEqual¶

Check equality:

if Element1.IsEqual(Element2) then
  ShowMessage('Elements are equal');

Assign¶

Copy value from another element:

TargetElement.Assign(SourceElement);

EvaluateExpression¶

Evaluate an OCL expression with this element as context:

var
  Customer: TBoldObject;
  OrderCount: TBoldElement;
begin
  OrderCount := Customer.EvaluateExpression('self.orders->size');
  ShowMessage('Orders: ' + OrderCount.AsString);
end;

EvaluateExpressionAsNewElement¶

Evaluate and return a new element (caller owns it):

var
  Customer: TBoldObject;
  ActiveOrders: TBoldObjectList;
begin
  ActiveOrders := Customer.EvaluateExpressionAsNewElement(
    'self.orders->select(status = ''Active'')'
  ) as TBoldObjectList;
  try
    // Use ActiveOrders
  finally
    ActiveOrders.Free;
  end;
end;

String Representations¶

Bold supports multiple string representations for different purposes:

Representation	Constant	Purpose
Default	`brDefault`	General display
Short	`brShort`	Compact display
Long	`brLong`	Detailed display

// Get specific representation
var
  ShortName: string;
begin
  ShortName := Element.GetStringRepresentation(brShort);
end;

Derived Classes¶

Class	Description
TBoldSystem	The Object Space manager
TBoldDomainElement	Base for objects and members
TBoldObject	Domain object instances
TBoldMember	Attributes and references
TBoldAttribute	Simple values
TBoldObjectList	Collections