Connecting knowledge nodes

Purpose

To connect knowledge nodes so that data can be sent between them.

Theory

The Knowledge Model screen displays an overview of the knowledge model, with details on how the knowledge nodes link to each other.

The lines between knowledge nodes define movement of data and the arrows represent the direction in which data moves. Solid lines represent data that is pushed and dashed lines represent data that is pulled. As in the above example, a red cross on a line between two knowledge nodes indicates there is no behaviour in the previous node that will send data to the next one.

If you create a knowledge node that gets its data from an external source, such as a database or an XML file, then data is automatically passed to the next knowledge node. However, if you create a process node then this is not the case.

In this exercise, you will create a new process node called Cleanse Entrants and link it to the Enrich Entrants node. You will then create behaviour within the Enrich Entrants node to ensure that data is passed to the Cleanse Entrants node.

Actions

To connect knowledge nodes:

1. Open the Connecting Knowledge Nodes knowledge model.
2. Right click on a blank part of the Knowledge Model screen and select Process > Transform Node from the context menu.
3. In the Create Transform Node dialog box, type Cleanse Entrants in the Name box and click OK.
   A new node called Cleanse Entrants is created.
4. Right click on the Enrich Entrants node and select Link To from the context menu.
   The Link To dialog box is displayed.
5. Select Cleanse Entrants from the list of knowledge nodes and click the Link button.
   A line appears with a red cross between the Enrich Entrants and Cleanse Entrants nodes. The red cross indicates that no behaviour exists within the Enrich Entrants node with an output that specifies information should be sent to the Cleanse Entrants node.
   
   To create such behaviour, you will need to enter the Enrich Entrants node.
6. Double click on the Enrich Entrants node.
7. Click the Minimise Down button in the top left corner of the knowledge model, to minimise it.
8. Ensure Deborah is selected from the Situation List.
9. Ensure Suggestions mode is switched off by clearing the Suggestions Mode check box on the Options menu.
   The reason Suggestions mode is being switched off is that the options it offers are not relevant to what is being taught in this exercise.
10. Click the Cleanse Entrants button on the Conclusion toolbar.
    The Justification pane changes to red to indicate that you must justify why you are sending data to the Cleanse Entrants node.
11. Right click on the Entrant concept and select Add [int:Entrant] from the context menu, to send every entrant to the Cleanse Entrants node without restriction.
    Since this reason does not conflict with any other behaviour within the system, the Justification pane changes to green.
12. Click the OK button at the bottom of the screen.
    The Cleanse Entrants button on the Conclusion toolbar has now changed to green.
13. Click the Knowledge Model button to return to the Knowledge Model screen.
    The red cross on the line between the Enrich Entrants and Cleanse Entrants nodes has now disappeared. This is because you have successfully passed data from the Enrich Entrants node to the Cleanse Entrants node.
    
14. Double click on the Cleanse Entrants node to view the data that has been transferred.
15. Close the knowledge model without saving changes.

Platform: all
EBE Version: 2.4
Category: Introduction Guide
Author: Patrick Peisker