ConfigurableContainer is a marker class that marks an element identified by association configurableElement as a configurable container of some variable content, i.e. VariableElements and other, lower-level ConfigurableContainers. In order to describe the contained variability to the outside world and to allow configuration of it, the ConfigurableContainer can have a public feature model and an internal configuration decision model not visible from the outside, called "internal binding".<br/><br/>In addition, the ConfigurableContainer can be used to extend the EAST-ADL variability approach to other languages and standards by pointing from the ConfigurableContainer to the respective (non EAST-ADL) element with association configurableElement. This provides the public feature model and the ConfigurationDecisionModel to that non EAST-ADL element.<br/><br/>The variable content of a ConfigurableContainer is defined as all VariableElements and all other ConfigurableContainers that are directly or indirectly contained in the Identifiable denoted by association configurableElement. Instead of 'variable content' the term 'internal variability' may be used.<br/><br/>Note that, according to this rule, the containment between a ConfigurableContainer and its variable content, i.e. it's contained VariableElements and lower-level ConfigurableContainers, is not directly defined between these meta-classes. Instead, the containment is defined by the Identifiable pointed to by association configurableElement. For example, consider a FunctionType "WiperSystem" containing two FunctionPrototypes "front" and "rear" both typed by FunctionType "WiperMotor"; to make the wiper system configurable and the rear wiper motor optional, a ConfigurableContainer is created that points to FunctionType "WiperSystem" (with association configurableElement) and a VariableElement is created that points to FunctionPrototype "rear" (with association optionalElement); the containment between the ConfigurableContainer and the VariableElement is therefore not explicitly defined between these classes but instead only between FunctionType "WiperSystem" and "FunctionPrototype" rear. In addition, the variability-related visibility of "rear" can be changed with PrivateContent: by default the variability of "rear" will be public and visible for direct configuration from the outside of its containing ConfigurableContainer, i.e. "WiperSystem"; by defining a PrivateContent marker object pointing to the FunctionPrototype "rear", this can be changed to private and this variability will not be visible from the outside of "WiperSystem".<br/><br/>Constraints:<br/>[1] Identifies one FunctionType or one HardwareComponentType.<br/><br/>[2] The publicFeatureModel is only allowed to contain Features (no VehicleFeatures).<br/><br/>Semantics:<br/>Marks the element identified by association configurableElement as a configurable container of variable content (i.e. it contains VariableElements and/or other, lower-level ConfigurableContainers) and optionally provides a public feature model and an internal configuration decision model for it, thus providing configurability support for them.<br/><br/>Extension:<br/>Class<br/>
Name: publicFeatureModel
The local feature model of the ConfigurableContainer.
PublicFeatureModel represents internal variability of a ConfigurableContainer. Thus it can be seen as being part of the public interface of a ConfigurableContainer.
Name: configurableElement
This association points to the actual element in the core model that is marked as a configurable container of some variable content by this ConfigurableContainer. The ConfigurableContainer in the variability extension can thus be seen as merely a marker element (this marker mechanism follows the global guideline for relating the EAST-ADL extensions to the core and is not specific to the variability extension).
