A component schema is a subdivision of the complete SmartPlant schema. It contains the set of class definitions that are used within a specific domain or application area. For example, the PIDComponent component schema contains all the class definitions that are relevant to P&IDs.
Component schemas break up the SmartPlant schema into manageable chunks that correspond almost one-to-one to a document type being published by the authoring tools, such as a PFD, Equipment Data Sheet, or P&ID. At a minimum, there is a component schema defined for each authoring tool that publishes data. You can extract component schemas from the SmartPlant schema using the Schema Editor.
One of the primary purposes of the component schema is performance. When an authoring tool like Smart P&ID indicates it is going to publish a certain document type, the SmartPlant Client loads only the necessary component schema instead of the entire SmartPlant schema.
Component schemas contain the following:
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The set of class definitions that have a componentization relationship with the component schema. For example, the Vapor, Liquid, Solid, and BulkPhase class definitions belong to the PFDComponent component schema, which means that the PFDComponent schema has componentization relationships with each of these class definitions.
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The interface definitions realized by those class definitions.
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The property definitions exposed by those interface definitions.
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The property types scoped by those property definitions.
To modify component schemas, edit the SmartPlant schema in the Schema Editor and
then regenerate the component schemas from the SmartPlant schema. Otherwise, your
component schema changes could be lost.
Shared Objects
The component schemas are full of examples of shared objects that appear in more than one component schema. Virtually all of the schema data defined in a component schema, including class definitions, interface definitions, property definitions, and property types, may be shared by one or more other component schemas.
The unique identity of an object is defined by its unique identifier (UID) and does not depend in any way on its classification. Therefore, an object can be classified differently by different components and still be one shared object in the SmartPlant Foundation database. For more information about shared object definitions, see Shared Object Definitions.
For example, if an object in one component schema is classified as class AA1 and the same object with the same UID is classified as class AA2 by another component schema, then the shared object in the SmartPlant Foundation database contains the information associated with the union of classes AA1 and AA2.