Importing a Package

The Import Packages Browser enables you to import and maintain a package in your current schema. Before you can import a package received from an exported package developer in another JADE database, you must first load the exported package schema into your JADE database.

When a package is imported, imported classes inherit from the local nearest RootSchema subschema class in the importing schema. A class can be imported only once into each schema branch.

While local (importing schema) classes can define references to imported classes, imported classes cannot participate in inverse relationships with locally defined classes.

A schema cannot import any packages exported from the same schema branch. In addition, you cannot subclass imported classes. For more details about imported packages, see "Imported Package Overview" under "Exported and Imported Packages", earlier in this chapter.

To open an Import Packages Browser

  1. Select the Packages command from the Browse menu.

  2. Select the Import Package command from the submenu that is then displayed.

The Import Packages Browser window is then opened. If you have not yet imported a package into the current schema, nothing is displayed in the Import Packages Browser.

Only one Import Packages Browser for the current schema can be open at any time. However, you can have concurrent open Import Packages Browsers for different schemas in a development work session.

You can change your default browser options, if required, by using the Browser sheet, accessed from the Options menu Preferences command.