Usage of "ForeignID" attribute in DNG
We have an attribute "ForeignID" in DNG to manage the ids of foreign system during import.
The same is also used to store the id of the artifact during ReqIF import as well..
Question here is,
- Can we have the attribute name as "ForeignID" or is it used internally by DNG?
- Are there any downsides with the name "ForeignID"
I am asking because as per this https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/engineering-lifecycle-management-suite/lifecycle-management/7.0.2?topic=ierf-importing-artifacts-from-reqif-files-requirements-project-component the ForeignID is set during First import
since DNG is allowing us to create the attribute with name "ForeignID" it is bit confusing,.
Can someone clarify this?
Thanks
One answer
I would not use ForeignID for any of your own data - I would leave all those fields as reserved for possible ReqIF usage.
The standard approach that I take with my clients is to create a custom attribute called RefID instead, and then that can be used for any external ID from other systems that you have control over
Comments
Thanks Davyd. Do we know why we it is not recommended to have the same name?
If it is reserved, wondering why DNG didn't prevent us from creating these system attributes in first place
It's not reserved, it's just used by ReqIF - many people don't use ReqIF at all, and you're free to create and use a field with that name, but if you ever do use ReqIF then it's going to cause a clash.
I figure you may as well avoid it just in case