Removing a Schema Element

You can physically delete an element from a user-defined schema by selecting the Remove command from the appropriate menu for the selected element in a browser window or clicking the Remove button in the String Browser. For example, if you want to delete a class selected in the Class List of the Class Browser, select the Remove command from the Classes menu.

This section covers the physical deletion of the following user-defined schema elements.

You can remove only user-defined elements. You cannot remove a user-defined element that is defined in another schema, an application that is used in a package, a class that has property references, or a class that has subclasses. You must first remove any subclasses of a class before you can delete the higher-level superclass.

The Remove command is disabled if the selected element has subobjects, is a system object, or it is defined in another schema.

For details about removing:

To remove a schema element

  1. In the appropriate browser, select the element that you want to physically delete from the JADE database; for example, an application selected in the Application Browser or a reference property selected in the Properties List of the Class Browser.

  2. Select the Remove command from the menu that relates to your selected element (for example, the Application menu if you have selected an application in the Application Browser or the Properties menu if you have selected a reference property in the Properties List of the Class Browser.) Alternatively, if the current browser is the String Browser, click the Remove button.

    A Confirm Delete message box is then displayed.

  3. To confirm that you want to remove the specified element and all of its constants, properties, and methods, click the OK button. Alternatively, click the Cancel button to abandon the deletion.

    If you selected the deletion of a class that has property references and the class deletion is valid (that is, it is a user-defined element in the current schema), an error message box is then displayed. Click the OK button to return to the Class Browser and take the appropriate actions before you attempt the removal of that class again.

    Deleting a class with instances that have a superclass property reference set does not display the error message box. The deletion of the class is completed and the superclass reference properties are marked as invalid.

When the deletion of the element is successful, the browser is then updated to reflect the removal of the element. (There may be a momentary delay while this updating occurs.) When you delete a translatable string, you are warned if other translatable strings use the translatable string that you want to delete. For details about translatable strings, see "Translating Strings", in Chapter 11.

As JADE must have at least one application in a schema, you can remove an application only if there are two or more applications defined in the schema and the application is not used in a package.

If you selected a user-defined global constant category for removal and that category contains global constants, the message box that is displayed advises you that the category has constants that will be deleted with the category. Clicking the Yes button in the message box initiates the deletion of both the category and the global constants that it contained.

You can also use the Cut button from the Browser toolbar to logically delete a selected portion of a method in the current editor pane. For details, see "Cut Toolbar Button", in Chapter 2.