The Context Mapper syntax for the tactic DDD part is based on the Sculptor DSL. For this reason we do not document all details of the tactic language part, since all the information can be found in Sculptor’s documentation. However, we still provide a short introduction into the most important elements on this page.

Aggregates

The stategic DDD’s bounded contexts typically contain multiple aggregates. Within the aggregates, you can model your system with the tactic DDD patterns, such as Entity, Value Object, Domain Event, Service and Repository.

The page Aggregate describes how you can create aggregates. The following sections introduce the other patterns syntax briefly. All of those language elements can be used within the aggregate.

Entity

An entity is declared with the Entity keyword, as illustrated below. With the optional keyword aggregateRoot you can specify which entity within your aggregate is the root entity. The language provides primitive data types such as String, int and boolean etc., similar to Java. You can further use the collection types List, Set and Bag.

Entity Customer {
  aggregateRoot

  SocialInsuranceNumber sin
  String firstname
  String lastname
  List<Address> addresses
}

As illustrated in the example above, you can declare your own types (such as Address and SocialInsuranceNumber above). These types don’t have to be further specified anywhere. However, you can also use references to existing types (entities, value objects, etc.) as described below.

Type References

To reference another type of your model within an attribute, you have to use the - (minus) sign:

Aggregate Customers {
  Entity Customer {
    aggregateRoot

    - SocialInsuranceNumber sin // Reference syntax for simple attribute
    String firstname
    String lastname
    - List<Address> addresses // Reference syntax for collections
  }

  Entity Address {
    String street
    int postalCode
    String city
  }

  ValueObject SocialInsuranceNumber {
    String sin key
  }
}

When you use this reference notation with the - (minus) sign, the language checks that the types (Address and SocialInsuranceNumber above) are declared.

Operations / Methods

Of course you can also declare methods/operations on your Entities, Value Objects and Domain Events. The declaration of methods is started with the def keyword. As illustrated below, you can use abstract data types which are not further declared in your method parameters and return types:

Entity Customer {
  aggregateRoot

  - SocialInsuranceNumber sin
  String firstname
  String lastname
  - List<Address> addresses

  def AddressId createAddress(Address address);
  def void changeCustomer(Customer customer, Address address);
}

If you want to refer existing types in your operation/method parameters and return types, you have to use the @ character:

Aggregate Customers {
  Entity Customer {
    aggregateRoot

    - SocialInsuranceNumber sin
    String firstname
    String lastname
    - List<Address> addresses

    def @AddressId createAddress(@Address address); // Method/Operation declaration with references
    def void changeCustomer(@Customer customer, @Address address); // Method/Operation declaration with references
  }

  Entity Address {
    String street
    int postalCode
    String city
  }

  ValueObject SocialInsuranceNumber {
    String sin key
  }

  ValueObject AddressId {
    int id
  }
}

Value Objects

The declaration of value objects is done with the ValueObject keyword:

ValueObject HandlingHistory {
  - List<HandlingEvent> handlingEvents
}

Attributes & Methods/Operations

Attributes (incl. type references) and methods/operations in value objects can be specified exactly the same way as within entities (see sections above).

Domain Events

The declaration of domain events is done with the DomainEvent keyword: (alternatively you can use the keyword Event)

DomainEvent HandlingEvent {
  Type handlingType;
  - Voyage voyage;
  - LocationShared location;
  Date completionTime;
  Date registrationTime;
  - Cargo cargo;
}

Commands

The declaration of commands is done with the Command keyword: (alternatively you can use the original Sculptor keyword CommandEvent)

Command RejectClaim {
  - Claim claim2Reject
  - Employee decisionMaker
  String reason4Rejection
}

Attributes & Methods/Operations

Attributes (incl. type references) and methods/operations in domain events can be specified exactly the same way as within entities (see sections above).

Services

Within your bounded context (or also inside aggregates) you can specify domain services according to the tactic DDD Service pattern. Domain services are declared with the Service keyword and contain one or more methods/operations. These methods/operations are declared exactly the same way as within entities, value objects or domain events, but without the def keyword:

Service RoutingService {
  List<@Itinerary> fetchRoutesForSpecification(@RouteSpecification routeSpecification) throws LocationNotFoundException;
}

With the throws keyword you can specify that the method/operation can throw a specific exception (as in Java).

Note: The MDSL generator currently only makes use of domain services that are declared inside aggregates that are exposed in your Context Map.

Repositories

You can specify a repository with the Repository keyword within your aggregate root. Only aggregate roots can contain repositories, which is ensured by a semantic checker of the language. A repository can contain one or more methods/operations, as illustrated in the example below. These methods/operations are declared exactly the same way as within entities, value objects or domain events, but without the def keyword:

Aggregate Location {
  Entity Location {
    aggregateRoot

    PortCode portcode
    - UnLocode unLocode;
    String name;

    Repository LocationRepository {
      @Location find(@UnLocode unLocode);
      List<@Location> findAll();
    }
  }

  ValueObject UnLocode {
    String unLocode
  }

  ValueObject LocationShared {
    PortCode portCode
    - Location location
  }
}

More Details about the Tactic DDD Syntax

If you want to read more details about the syntax of the tactic DDD part within bounded contexts, we refer to the Sculptor documentation.