Beside the new features described below, pure-systems changes the product structure with this release to bundle popular combinations of product features.

• pure::variants Professional contains all features of the former pure::variants Developer Edition
• pure::variants Enterprise is all of pure::variants Professional plus pure::variants server support (i.e. the combination of the former Developer Edition and Server Edition) and includes the pure::variants Connector for pure::variants plus one of the other pure::variants extension modules.
• pure::variants Feature Modeler Professional contains all features of the pure::variants Professional except for the ability to use family modeling and model transformation.
• pure::variants Feature Modeler Enterprise contains all features of the pure::variants Enterprise except for the ability to use family modeling and model transformation

To share common feature selections/exclusions between several variants pure::variants now supports variant description model (VDM) inheritance. This allows users to define for each VDM the models from which selections are to be inherited. Changes in the inherited model selection will be propagated automatically to all inheriting models. Inheritance is possible across configuration spaces and projects.

This kind of inheritance allows for example combination of partial configurations, restricting choices available to users only to the points where the inherited model left decisions explicitly open, or use of variant configurations in other contexts.

To use this feature of pure::variants, access the VDM properties via the Variant Projects view context menu and add models into the inheritance list.

Instead of selecting one value from a list of possible values, pure::variants now supports attributes which have a configurable list of values as data type. Each listed value is available in a variant if the corresponding restriction holds true.

To use this feature, simply add square brackets ("[]") after the data type in the Attributes page in the Element properties dialog.

For each element in feature and family models a default selection state may be defined. An element with the default selection state "selected" is selected implicitly if the parent element is selected. To deselect this element either the parent has to be deselected or the element itself has to be excluded by the user or the autoresolver.

For feature models elements are normally created with the "undefined" selection state, for family models with "selected".

This functionality replaces the "Default feature" property found in pure::variants 2.2 and earlier releases.

Several new element to element relations have been introduced to ease definition of complex variability relationships. New relations include ps:provides/ps:supports (the reverse counterparts to ps:requires/ps:recommends). These relations permit to express that a given element provides or supports something another element, possibly in another model needs to work properly. If at least one such providing element is in the configuration, the relationship is considered to be valid. The relationships ps:requiredFor and ps:recommendedFor (available since release 1.0) have similar semantics but here all of the elements with such a relationship have to be selected in order to create a valid relationship.

Similarily the new ps:sharedProvider complements ps:exclusiveProvider.

The history view (available for pure::variants Enterprise with database backend) now allows filtering and searching using pure::variants filter dialogs. It also synchronizes the history view with the current selection in real-time.

The Connector for IBM Rational ClearQuest allows users to link ClearQuest objects such as tests and defects to pure::variants model elements. This enables real-time monitoring of variant-specific object states in ClearQuests databases. With a glance one can see which variants are affected by the currently existing defects and where tests failed or have to be run in order to validate a variant.

Through the linking between features or family model elements and ClearQuest objects the traceability within the development is enhanced. New metrics permit also measurement of statical data for defect distribution and occurences and test coverage.

By using these links between variants and ClearQuest tests pure::variants also helps to simplify the configuration of complex test plans.

The Connector for BIRT enables users to define and generate reports using the Eclipse Reporting Framework BIRT. This makes it easy to distribute even complex reports based on pure::variants models data and possibly other data sources as HTML pages and printable documents.

A sample report for a variant description model

This Connector for Bugzilla allows users to create defects from within pure::variants and do real-time monitoring of variant-specific defect states in Bugzilla databases. With a glance one can see which variants are affected by the currently existing defects.

Through the linking between features or family model elements and defects the traceability within the development is enhanced. New metrics permit also measurement of statical data for defect distribution and occurences.

Model editor showing defects related to features

The Synchronizer for DOORS now supports use of (mixed) DOORS baselines in pure::variants models.