7.5 Looking Ahead

We have now seen both parts of analysis. Chapter 6 covered identifying the object structure of a system, finding the classes of those objects, and linking them with relationships and associations. This chapter covered the dynamic aspects of objects the definition of behavior, with special attention given to state-driven objects, and the operations necessary to implement those behaviors.

The task of analysis is to find the object structure required of all acceptable solutions to the problem. Put another way, analysis finds the essential objects, classes, and relationships inherent in the system under study. Analysis defines the what of the system. The next process step, design, will add the how. We have deferred many questions about implementation strategies and structures, such as the number of tasks running, how messages will be implemented, and the internal design of the objects themselves. Let's continue with the large-scale architectural design in Chapter 8.