Astereotypeis a custom extension of the modeling language. Stereotypes provide a mechanism to extend the architecture language elements by adding domain-specific metadata.

Apply stereotypes to model elements such as root-level architecture, component architecture, connectors, ports, data interfaces, value types, and functions. Functions only apply to software architectures. A model element can have multiple stereotypes. Stereotypes provide model elements with a common set of property fields, such as mass, cost, and power.

Apropertyis a field in a stereotype. You can specify property values for each element to which the stereotype is applied.

Use properties to store quantitative characteristics, such as weight or speed, that are associated with a model element. Properties can also be descriptive or represent a status. You can view and edit the properties of each element in the architecture model using the Property Inspector.

Aprofileis a package of stereotypes to create a self-consistent domain of element types.

Author profiles and apply profiles to a model using theProfile Editor. You can store stereotypes for a project in one profile or in several. When you save profiles, they are stored in XML files.