Category list

Icons Used in This Book

Appropriately for a book about graphical communication (even if it is software-oriented), there are signposts throughout to help you find your way.

UML2 This icon identifies the really new stuff in UML 2. Not every modified feature will get this flag, but it does alert those who are familiar with UML 1.x that something’s really different here.

Tip Here’s a simpler way of doing something that can make it easier than the typical approach. Think of it as a shortcut to better UML.

Remember UML can be a maze — and it can be amazing. These are gentle reminders to reinforce important points.

Warning If you see this icon but ignore it, you’ll be in good company but a bad mood.

Technical Stuff When you see this icon, you know that we thought the associated material really interesting — but every time we tell people enthusiastically about it, they fall asleep. Skip these sections if you want.

Where to Go from Here

Okay, you’re now ready to explore the world of UML 2 modeling. Relax. You’ve got the tools that you need in your head and your hands (one of them is this book), and it’s safe to explore.

So, go ahead and express yourself with the power of UML 2.

Part I: UML and System Development

Chapter List

Chapter 1:Whats UML About, Alfie?
Chapter 2: Following Best Practices

Part Overview

click to expand

In this part . . .

Building systems or software isnt that tough if you can communicate with your clients , co-workers , managers, and tools. Unfortunately, as your problems get harder and more complex, the risks that emerge from miscommunication become greater — and more severe when they do crop up.

Fortunately, theres a straightforward, visual language that you can use that will help promote more precise and more efficient communication about the nature of your system in all its aspects — software, requirements, architectures, designs, design patterns, and implementations . This language is UML , the Unified Modeling Language. The newest version, UML 2, has become more powerful and more useful than ever.

Starting here, we cover the basics of UML. You find out how it may fit your situation, how and when you can use it, and what its good for. We give you just as much background in history, terminology, and basic principles as youll need to take advantage of UMLs highly productive features.

Chapter 1: What’s UML About, Alfie?

Overview

In This Chapter

Understanding the basics of UML
Exploring the whys and whens of UML diagrams

So you’ve been hearing a lot about UML, and your friends and colleagues are spending some of their time drawing pictures. And maybe you’re ready to start using UML but you want to know what it’s all about first. Well, it’s about a lot of things, such as better communication, higher productivity, and also about drawing pretty pictures. This chapter introduces you to the basics of UML and how it can help you.

Introducing UML

The first thing you need to know is what the initials UML stand for. Don’t laugh —lots of people get it wrong, and nothing brands you as a neophyte faster. It’s not the Universal Modeling Language, as it doesn’t intend to model everything (for example, it’s not very good for modeling the stock market; otherwise we’d be rich by now). It’s also not the Unified Marxist-Leninists, a Nepalese Political party (though we hope you’ll never get that confused ). It is the University of Massachusetts Lowell—but not in this context. UML really stands for the Unified Modeling Language .

Well, maybe that’s not the most important thing to know. Probably just as important is that UML is a standardized modeling language consisting of an integrated set of diagrams, developed to help system and software developers accomplish the following tasks :

Specification
Visualization
Architecture design
Construction
Simulation and Testing
Documentation

UML was originally developed with the idea of promoting communication and productivity among the developers of object-oriented systems, but the readily apparent power of UML has caused it to make inroads into every type of system and software development.

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Chonoles M. J., Schardt J. A.

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