The XDM is a file format used by Elektrobit Tresos tool to store the basic software configuration of the AUTOSAR® modules. It is a specialisation of the XML format. The data stored in the XDM files are tree-like structures.
The problem
The XDM files are created and maintained by an Eclipse based tool written in Java. At some places it is internally using unordered collections (Java sets) for the data. The result of this approach is often, that if an XDM file is read, then slightly modified and written again, the order of the elements in the new file is different than in the original one. This different order has no semantic impact on the whole model, but it makes the files practically not comparable and not mergable by typical compare/merge tools, that are comparing the data line-by-line.
REMARK: The above doesn't mean, the other compare/merge tools are bad! They are often great, but they are simply not designed for this kind of data.
- A numerical value can be written in different formats (decimal, hexadecimal, octal, binary, exponential, ...). The represented value is the equal on both sides, but it will be considered as a difference because of different representations.
- Object in XDM files often contain IMPORTER_INFO attributes that have no semantic meaning, but are changing and then displayed as different by text compare.
- Containers in XDM files have an ENABLED attribute. If a container is disabled, its content can differ, but it shouldn't be considered by the compare.
The solution
The MAXAR2 XDM Merge Tool doesn't compare XDM files as lists of lines, but as object trees.
- Order changes in not-ordered collections are ignored.
- Attributes without semantic meaning are ignored.
- Effective values of numerical attributes are compared, not their textual representations.
This way, you can see only the relevant differences, these with impact on semantic of the model.
Typical use case
The XDM files are not splitable, and many BSW modules are central for a project and must be changed by many developers, possibly at the same time (i.e. RTE.xdm or BswM.xdm). Merging such files during integration of the changes can be challenging. The MAXAR2 XDM Merge Tool can simplify the merging and make it much less error prone.
You can download an evaluation version of the MAXAR2 XDM Merge Tool as a part of the MAXAR2 Automotive Tools package. If you are not using the Sparx Enterprise Architect, please take the 64-bit version.
Download pages for MAXAR2 Automotive Tools package containing MAXAR2 XDM Merge Tool: