Schema Repository, Versioning & Visual Diff

In distributed architecture teams, multiple architects design overlapping domains simultaneously. Without centralized concurrency governance, teams face accidental overwrites and outdated diagrams.

EasyEA’s Schema Repository enforces strict transactional check-out/check-in locking paired with a semantic Visual Diff engine.

1. Schema Repository & Diagram Lifecycle

Every diagram lives within the central repository (ArchitectHub ➔ Schemas) and carries formal metadata:

Unique Code & Title: Unambiguous identifier within the active workspace.
Diagram Classification: Multi-layer ArchiMate view, BPMN 2.0 workflow, capability map, or technical network topology.
Lifecycle Status:
- Draft: Work-in-progress model.
- In Review: Architecture proposal submitted for Enterprise Architecture Review Board approval.
- Approved: Golden reference baseline for business and engineering.
- Deprecated: Historical diagram of a decommissioned system.

2. Concurrency Governance: Check-Out and Check-In

To guarantee consistency, EasyEA implements schema-level locking:

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    actor A as Architect A
    participant S as EasyEA Repository
    actor B as Architect B

    A->>S: Check-out "Payments Architecture v2"
    S-->>A: Schema Locked for Architect A (Edit Token Issued)
    B->>S: Attempts editing diagram
    S-->>B: Read-Only Mode (Currently Locked by Architect A)
    A->>S: Check-in with commit message: "Added Cards Microservice"
    S-->>S: Increment Version (v2.1) & Release Lock
    S-->>B: Diagram Unlocked & Synchronized

Check-Out: Grants exclusive editing rights. The diagram can be edited in the browser canvas or launched directly into desktop tools (Archi / Draw.io) via the easyea:// protocol.
Check-In: Releases the lock, commits an incremented version number, and stores a mandatory change summary.

3. Semantic Graph-Based Visual Diff Engine

Comparing two versions is not a crude raster pixel comparison; EasyEA executes a Semantic Graph Diff:

🟢 Added Elements & Connectors: Highlighted with a bright green outline and + Added badge.
🔴 Removed Elements & Connectors: Displayed with dashed red contours and - Removed badge.
🟡 Modified Nodes: Displayed in amber (attribute updates, lifecycle transitions, or repositioning).
Audit Change Ledger: A structured list detailing every property or connection modified between the compared baselines.