Unified Modeling Language: Difference between revisions
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The '''Unified Modeling Language''' ('''UML''') is a general-purpose visual [[modeling language]] that | The '''Unified Modeling Language''' ('''UML''') is a general-purpose, object-oriented, visual [[modeling language]] that provides a way to visualize the architecture and design of a system, like a [[blueprint]].<ref name="OMG">{{cite book | ||
|title=Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1 | |title=Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1 | ||
|series= | |series=Object Management Group Document Number formal/2017-12-05 | ||
|date=December 2017 | |date=December 2017 | ||
|publisher= | |publisher=Object Management Group Standards Development Organization | ||
|url=https://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.5.1/PDF | |url=https://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.5.1/PDF | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref><ref>[1412.2458] Systems, Views and Models of UML. By Ruth Breu Radu Grosu Franz Huber Bernhard Rumpe Wolfgang Schwerin. arXiv arxiv.org</ref> UML defines notation for many types of diagrams which focus on aspects such as behavior, interaction, and structure. | ||
UML | UML is both a formal metamodel and a collection of graphical templates. The metamodel defines the elements in an object-oriented model such as classes and properties. It is essentially the same thing as the metamodel in [[object-oriented programming]] (OOP), however for OOP, the metamodel is primarily used at run time to dynamically inspect and modify an application object model. The UML metamodel provides a mathematical, formal foundation for the graphic views used in the modeling language to describe an emerging system. | ||
UML was created in an attempt to define a standard language for object-oriented programming at the [[OOPSLA]] '95 Conference. Originally, [[Grady Booch]] and [[James Rumbaugh]] merged their models into a unified model. This was followed by Booch's company [[Rational Software]] purchasing Ivar Jacobson's Objectory company and merging their model into the UML. At the time Rational and Objectory were two of the dominant players in the small world of independent vendors of object-oriented tools and methods.<ref>{{cite web|title=From Unified Method to Unified Language|url=http://modelseverywhere.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/from-unified-method-to-unified-language/|work=modelseverywhere.wordpress.com|access-date=19 December 2013|date=November 13, 2010}}</ref> The [[Object Management Group]] (OMG) then took ownership of UML. | |||
In 1997, UML was adopted as a standard by the [[Object Management Group]] (OMG) and has been managed by this organization ever since. In 2005, UML was also published by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) and the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC) as the '''ISO/IEC 19501''' standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=32620 |title=ISO/IEC 19501:2005 - Information technology - Open Distributed Processing - Unified Modeling Language (UML) Version 1.4.3 |publisher=Iso.org |date=2005-04-01 |access-date=2015-05-07}}</ref> Since then the standard has been periodically revised to cover the latest revision of UML.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=32624 |title=ISO/IEC 19505-1:2012 - Information technology - Object Management Group Unified Modeling Language (OMG UML) - Part 1: Infrastructure |publisher=Iso.org |date=2012-04-20 |access-date=2014-04-10}}</ref> | The creation of UML was motivated by the desire to standardize the disparate nature of notational systems and approaches to software design at the time.<ref name=":1" /> In 1997, UML was adopted as a standard by the [[Object Management Group]] (OMG) and has been managed by this organization ever since. In 2005, UML was also published by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) and the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC) as the '''ISO/IEC 19501''' standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=32620 |title=ISO/IEC 19501:2005 - Information technology - Open Distributed Processing - Unified Modeling Language (UML) Version 1.4.3 |publisher=Iso.org |date=2005-04-01 |access-date=2015-05-07}}</ref> Since then the standard has been periodically revised to cover the latest revision of UML.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=32624 |title=ISO/IEC 19505-1:2012 - Information technology - Object Management Group Unified Modeling Language (OMG UML) - Part 1: Infrastructure |publisher=Iso.org |date=2012-04-20 |access-date=2014-04-10}}</ref> | ||
Most developers do not use UML per se, but instead produce more informal diagrams, often hand-drawn. These diagrams, however, often include elements from UML.<ref>{{cite book | |||
|author1=Sebastian Baltes | |author1=Sebastian Baltes | ||
|author2=Stephan Diehl | |author2=Stephan Diehl | ||
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|s2cid=2436333}}</ref>{{Rp|536}} | |s2cid=2436333}}</ref>{{Rp|536}} | ||
== | ==Use== | ||
[[ | UML is primarily used for [[software development]] (in any industry or domain)<ref name="web-apps">{{Cite journal | title=Modeling Web Application Architectures with UML | ||
| date=1999 | doi=10.1145/317665.317677 |url=http://dl.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=317677&type=pdf&CFID=36848136&CFTOKEN=65755783 |format=PDF | last1=Conallen | first1=Jim | journal=Communications of the ACM | volume=42 | issue=10 | pages=63–70 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> but also used outside elsewhere including [[business process]]es, [[Function model|system function]]s, [[database schema]]s, [[workflow]] in the legal systems, [[medical electronics]], [[Health care system]]s, and [[hardware design]].<ref name="BJR-book">{{Cite web | title=Grady Booch, Jacobson and Rumbaugh book}}</ref> | |||
UML is designed for use with many object-oriented software development methods; both today and for the methods when it was first developed including [[Object-modeling technique|OMT]], [[Booch method]], [[Objectory]], and especially for [[Rational Unified Process|RUP]] which it was originally intended to be used with when work began at Rational Software.<ref>John Hunt (2000). ''The Unified Process for Practitioners: Object-oriented Design, UML and Java''. Springer, 2000. {{ISBN|1-85233-275-1}}. p. 5.door</ref> Although originally intended for object-oriented design documentation, UML has been used effectively in other contexts such as modeling business process.<ref>Satish Mishra (1997). [http://www2.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~hs/Lehre/2004-WS_SWQS/20050107_Ex_UML.ppt "Visual Modeling & Unified Modeling Language (UML): Introduction to UML"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720091651/http://www2.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~hs/Lehre/2004-WS_SWQS/20050107_Ex_UML.ppt |date=20 July 2011 }}. Rational Software Corporation. Accessed 9 November 2008.</ref><ref name="UML, Success Stories">{{cite web|url=http://www.uml.org/uml_success_stories/index.htm|title=UML, Success Stories|access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref> | |||
As UML is not inherently linked to a particular [[programming language]], it can be used for modeling a system independent of language. Some [[UML tool]]s generate [[source code]] from a UML model.<ref name="importance-UML">{{Cite web | title=Importance of UML | |||
|url=http://www.coderanch.com/t/98273/patterns/importance-UML}}</ref> | |||
[[ | ===Elements=== | ||
| | [[File:Component-based-Software-Engineering-example2.png|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|upright=1.5|Components in a travel reservation system]] | ||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
UML diagrams support visualizing system aspects like:<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.4.1/Superstructure/PDF |title=OMG Unified Modeling Language (OMG UML), Superstructure. Version 2.4.1 |publisher=Object Management Group |access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref> | |||
* [[Use case diagram]] for specifying user interactions with systems | |||
* [[Class diagram]] for specifying structures, including data structures | |||
* [[Activity diagram]] for specifying business process workflows | |||
* [[Component diagram]] for specifying how components interface with other components | |||
* [[Deployment diagram]] for specifying how components are deployed and executed on computational nodes | |||
In addition to syntactical (notational) elements with well-defined semantics, UML diagrams also allow for free-form comments (notes) that explain aspects such as usage, constraints, and intents. | |||
===Sharing=== | |||
UML models can be exchanged among [[UML tool]]s via the [[XML Metadata Interchange]] (XMI) format. | |||
===Cardinality notation=== | |||
As with database Chen, Bachman, and ISO [[ER diagram]]s, class models are specified to use "look-across" [[Cardinality (data modeling)|cardinalities]], even though several authors ([[Merise]],<ref>Hubert Tardieu, Arnold Rochfeld and René Colletti La methode MERISE: Principes et outils (Paperback - 1983)</ref> | As with database Chen, Bachman, and ISO [[ER diagram]]s, class models are specified to use "look-across" [[Cardinality (data modeling)|cardinalities]], even though several authors ([[Merise]],<ref>Hubert Tardieu, Arnold Rochfeld and René Colletti La methode MERISE: Principes et outils (Paperback - 1983)</ref> | ||
Elmasri & Navathe,<ref>Elmasri, Ramez, B. Shamkant, Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems, third ed., Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA, USA, 2000.</ref> | Elmasri & Navathe,<ref>Elmasri, Ramez, B. Shamkant, Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems, third ed., Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA, USA, 2000.</ref> | ||
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|location=Vienna | |location=Vienna | ||
|degree=Doctor of Technical Sciences | |degree=Doctor of Technical Sciences | ||
|publisher=Technical University of Vienna}}</ref> | |publisher=Technical University of Vienna | ||
|archive-date=29 June 2024 | |||
|access-date=25 May 2024 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629135535/https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/pub-inf_4582.pdf | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
and Dullea et al.<ref>{{cite journal | and Dullea et al.<ref>{{cite journal | ||
|journal=Data & Knowledge Engineering | |journal=Data & Knowledge Engineering | ||
| Line 111: | Line 114: | ||
investigates this situation and shows how and why different transformations fail.", and: "As we will see on the next few pages, the look-across interpretation introduces several difficulties which prevent the extension of simple mechanisms from binary to ''n''-ary associations." | investigates this situation and shows how and why different transformations fail.", and: "As we will see on the next few pages, the look-across interpretation introduces several difficulties which prevent the extension of simple mechanisms from binary to ''n''-ary associations." | ||
=== | ===Artifacts=== | ||
[[File:UML Artifact.PNG|thumb|320px|Artifact manifesting components]] | [[File:UML Artifact.PNG|thumb|320px|Artifact manifesting components]] | ||
An artifact | |||
is the "specification of a physical piece of information that is used or produced by a [[software development process]], or by deployment and operation of a system"<ref name="OMG_Artifacts">{{cite book | |||
|chapter=Artifacts | |chapter=Artifacts | ||
|title=Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1 | |title=Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1 | ||
| Line 203: | Line 126: | ||
|page=656 | |page=656 | ||
|url=https://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.5.1/PDF | |url=https://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.5.1/PDF | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref> including models, [[source code]], scripts, [[executable]]s, [[Table (database)|tables]] in [[database systems]], development deliverables, a design [[document]]s, and [[email]] messages.<ref name="OMG_Artifacts" /> | ||
An artifact is the physical entity that is deployed to a | |||
[[Node (UML)|node]].<ref name="OMG_Artifacts" /> Other UML elements such as classes and components are first manifest into artifacts and instances of these artifacts are then deployed. Artifacts can be composed of other artifacts. | |||
===Metamodeling=== | |||
[[File:M0-m3.png|thumb|320px|Illustration of the Meta-Object Facility]] | [[File:M0-m3.png|thumb|320px|Illustration of the Meta-Object Facility]] | ||
The | The OMG developed a [[metamodeling]] architecture to define UML, called the [[Meta-Object Facility]] (MOF).<ref>Iman Poernomo (2006) "[http://calcium.dcs.kcl.ac.uk/1259/1/acm-paper.pdf The Meta-Object Facility Typed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630002118/http://calcium.dcs.kcl.ac.uk/1259/1/acm-paper.pdf |date=30 June 2016 }}" in: ''Proceeding SAC '06 Proceedings of the 2006 ACM symposium on Applied computing''. pp. 1845–1849</ref> MOF is designed as a four-layered architecture, as shown in the image at right. It provides a meta-meta model at the top, called the M3 layer. This M3-model is the language used by Meta-Object Facility to build metamodels, called M2-models. | ||
The most prominent example of a Layer 2 Meta-Object Facility model is the UML metamodel, which describes | The most prominent example of a Layer 2 Meta-Object Facility model is the UML metamodel, which describes UML itself. These M2-models describe elements of the M1-layer, and thus M1-models. These would be, for example, models written in UML. The last layer is the M0-layer or data layer. It is used to describe runtime instances of the system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.4.1/Infrastructure/PDF/ |title=UML 2.4.1 Infrastructure |publisher=Omg.org |date=2011-08-05 |access-date=2014-04-10}}</ref> | ||
The | The metamodel can be extended using a mechanism called [[stereotype (UML)|stereotyping]]. This has been criticized as being insufficient/untenable by [[Brian Henderson-Sellers]] and Cesar Gonzalez-Perez in "Uses and Abuses of the Stereotype Mechanism in UML 1.x and 2.0".<ref name="UsesAbusesStereotype">{{cite journal | ||
|author1=[[Brian Henderson-Sellers]] | |author1=[[Brian Henderson-Sellers]] | ||
|author2=Cesar Gonzalez-Perez | |author2=Cesar Gonzalez-Perez | ||
| Line 235: | Line 151: | ||
|location=[[Berlin]], Germany|isbn=978-3-540-45772-5 | |location=[[Berlin]], Germany|isbn=978-3-540-45772-5 | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref> | ||
==Diagrams== | |||
{{UML diagram types}} | |||
UML 2 defines many types of diagrams {{endash}} shown as a [[taxonomy]] in the image.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Jon Holt Institution of Electrical Engineers (2004). ''UML for Systems Engineering: Watching the Wheels'' IET, 2004, {{ISBN|0-86341-354-4}}. p. 58</ref> | |||
[[File:UML diagrams overview.svg|class=skin-invert-image|center|600px|Hierarchy of UML 2.2 Diagrams, shown as a [[class diagram]]]] | |||
===Structure diagrams=== | |||
Structure diagrams emphasize the structure of the system {{endash}} using objects, classifiers, relationships, attributes and operations. They are used to document [[software architecture]]. | |||
* [[Class diagram]] {{endash}} Describes the structure of a class | |||
* [[Component diagram]] {{endash}} Describes how a software system is split into components and dependencies between the components | |||
* [[Composite structure diagram]] | |||
* [[Deployment diagram]] | |||
* [[Object diagram]] | |||
* [[Package diagram]] | |||
* [[Profile diagram]] | |||
===Behavior diagrams=== | |||
Behavior diagrams emphasize the behavior of a system by showing collaborations among objects and changes to the internal states of objects. They are used to describe the functionality of a system. | |||
* [[Activity diagram]] {{endash}} Describes the business and operational activities of components | |||
* [[State machine diagram]] | |||
* [[Use case diagram]] {{endash}} Depicts of a user's interaction with a system<ref>Manuel Almendros-Jiménez, Jesús & Iribarne, Luis. (2007). Describing Use-Case Relationships with Sequence Diagrams. Comput. J.. 50. 116-128. 10.1093/comjnl/bxl053.</ref> | |||
===Interaction diagrams=== | |||
Interaction diagrams, a subset of behavior diagrams, emphasize the flow of control and data between components of a system. | |||
* [[Communication diagram]] {{endash}} shows communication between components | |||
* [[Interaction overview diagram]] | |||
* [[Sequence diagram]] {{endash}} shows interactions arranged in time sequence; can be drawn via tools such as Lucidchart and Draw.io | |||
* [[Timing diagram (Unified Modeling Language)|Timing diagram]] {{endash}} focuses on timing constraints | |||
===Examples=== | |||
<gallery class="center skin-invert-image" style="width: initial"> | |||
Policy Admin Component Diagram.PNG |Component diagram | |||
BankAccount1.svg |Class diagram | |||
Activity conducting.svg |Activity diagram | |||
UML Use Case diagram.svg |Use case diagram | |||
Restaurant-UML-UC.png |Use case diagram | |||
UML Diagram Deployment.svg |Deployment diagram | |||
</gallery> | |||
== Adoption == | == Adoption == | ||
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It is considered a large language, with many [[Syntax (programming languages)|constructs]]. Some people (including [[Ivar Jacobson|Jacobson]]) feel that UML's size hinders learning and therefore uptake.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.infoq.com/interviews/Ivar_Jacobson|title = Ivar Jacobson on UML, MDA, and the future of methodologies}}</ref> | It is considered a large language, with many [[Syntax (programming languages)|constructs]]. Some people (including [[Ivar Jacobson|Jacobson]]) feel that UML's size hinders learning and therefore uptake.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.infoq.com/interviews/Ivar_Jacobson|title = Ivar Jacobson on UML, MDA, and the future of methodologies}}</ref> | ||
[[Visual Studio]] dropped support for UML in 2016 due to lack of use.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krill |first=Paul |date=2016-10-18 |title=UML to be ejected from Microsoft Visual Studio |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3131600/uml-to-be-ejected-from-microsoft-visual-studio.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=InfoWorld |language=en}}</ref> | |||
According to [[Google Trends]], use of the term ''UML'' has declined since 2004 although leveled off in the last 5 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Trends |url=https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=UML&hl=en |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=Google Trends |language=en-US |archive-date=23 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723193301/https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=UML&hl=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
==History== | |||
[[File:OO Modeling languages history.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Timeline and relationships of object-oriented methods and notation]] | |||
UML has evolved since the second half of the 1990s and has its roots in the [[object-oriented programming]] methods developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The image shows a timeline of the history of UML and other object-oriented modeling methods and notation. | |||
===Origin=== | |||
Rational Software hired James Rumbaugh from [[General Electric]] in 1994 and after that, the company became the source for two of the most popular object-oriented modeling approaches of the day:<ref>Andreas Zendler (1997) ''Advanced Concepts, Life Cycle Models and Tools for Objeckt-Oriented Software Development''. p. 122</ref> Rumbaugh's [[object-modeling technique]] (OMT) and Grady Booch's method. They were soon assisted in their efforts by [[Ivar Jacobson]], the creator of the [[object-oriented software engineering]] (OOSE) method, who joined them at Rational in 1995.<ref name=":1">{{cite book | |||
| title = Unified Modeling Language User Guide, The | |||
| publisher = Addison-Wesley | |||
| edition = 2 | |||
| year = 2005 | |||
| page = 496 | |||
| url = http://www.informit.com/store/unified-modeling-language-user-guide-9780321267979 | |||
| isbn = 0321267974 | |||
}} | |||
See the sample content: look for history</ref> | |||
=== UML 1.x === | |||
UML is originally based on the notations of the [[Booch method]], the [[object-modeling technique]] (OMT), and [[object-oriented software engineering]] (OOSE), which were integrated into a single language.<ref name=":0" /> UML was developed at Rational Software in 1994–1995, with further development led by them through 1996.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
Under the technical leadership of Rumbaugh, Jacobson, and Booch, a consortium called the [[UML Partners]] was organized in 1996 to complete the ''Unified Modeling Language (UML)'' specification and propose it to the Object Management Group (OMG) for standardization. The partnership also contained additional interested parties (for example [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]], [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]], [[IBM]], and [[Microsoft]]). The UML Partners' UML 1.0 draft was proposed to the OMG in January 1997 by the consortium. During the same month, the UML Partners formed a group, designed to define the exact meaning of language constructs, chaired by [[Cris Kobryn]] and administered by Ed Eykholt, to finalize the specification and integrate it with other standardization efforts. The result of this work, UML 1.1, was submitted to the OMG in August 1997 and adopted by the OMG in November 1997.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ad/97-08-11 |title=UML Specification version 1.1 (OMG document ad/97-08-11) |publisher=Omg.org |access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref> | |||
After the first release, a task force was formed<ref name=":1" /> to improve the language, which released several minor revisions, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/ |title=UML |publisher=Omg.org |access-date=2014-04-10}}</ref> | |||
The standards it produced (as well as the original standard) have been noted as being ambiguous and inconsistent.<ref>Génova et alia 2004 "Open Issues in Industrial Use Case Modeling"</ref> | |||
=== UML 2 === | |||
UML 2.0 major revision replaced version 1.5 in 2005, which was developed with an enlarged consortium to improve the language further to reflect new experiences on the usage of its features.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/2.0/ |title=UML 2.0 |publisher=Omg.org |access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref> | |||
Although UML 2.1 was never released as a formal specification, versions 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 appeared in 2007, followed by UML 2.2 in February 2009. UML 2.3 was formally released in May 2010.<ref name="spec">{{cite web|url=http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/ |title=UML |publisher=Omg.org |access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref> UML 2.4.1 was formally released in August 2011.<ref name="spec" /> UML 2.5 was released in October 2012 as an "In progress" version and was officially released in June 2015.<ref name="spec" /> | |||
The formal version 2.5.1 was adopted in December 2017.<ref name="OMG" /> | |||
There are four parts to the UML 2.x specification: | |||
* The Superstructure that defines the notation and semantics for diagrams and their model elements | |||
* The Infrastructure that defines the core metamodel on which the Superstructure is based | |||
* The [[Object Constraint Language]] (OCL) for defining rules for model elements | |||
* The UML Diagram Interchange that defines how UML 2 diagram layouts are exchanged | |||
Until UML 2.4.1, the latest versions of these standards were:<ref name="Versions2.4.1">{{cite web|author=OMG|title=OMG Formal Specifications (Modeling and Metadata paragraph)|url=http://www.omg.org/spec/#M&M|access-date = 2016-02-12}}</ref> | |||
* UML Superstructure version 2.4.1 | |||
* UML Infrastructure version 2.4.1 | |||
* OCL version 2.3.1 | |||
* UML Diagram Interchange version 1.0. | |||
Since version 2.5, the UML Specification has been simplified (without Superstructure and Infrastructure), and the latest versions of these standards are now:<ref name="LatestVersions">{{cite web|author=OMG|title=about the unified modeling language specification|url=https://www.omg.org/spec/UML/About-UML/|access-date = 2020-02-22}}</ref> | |||
* UML Specification 2.5.1 | |||
* OCL version 2.4 | |||
It continues to be updated and improved by the revision task force, who resolve any issues with the language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Issues for UML 2.6 Revision task Force mailing list |url=https://issues.omg.org/issues/lists/uml2-rtf |access-date=2014-04-10 |publisher=Omg.org}}</ref> | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |Business Process Model and Notation}} | ||
* {{Annotated link |C4 model}} | |||
* | * {{Annotated link |Department of Defense Architecture Framework}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |DOT (graph description language)}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |List of Unified Modeling Language tools}} | ||
* | * [[Real-Time UML]] – the application of the [[Unified Modelling Language]] (UML) | ||
* {{Annotated link |MODAF}} | |||
* | * {{Annotated link |Model-based testing}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |Model-driven engineering}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |Modeling and Analysis of Real Time and Embedded systems}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |Object-oriented role analysis and modeling}} | ||
* | * {{Annotated link |Process Specification Language}} | ||
* {{Annotated link |Systems Modeling Language}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
| Line 265: | Line 275: | ||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
* Tegarden, David et al. (2025). [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Systems+Analysis+and+Design%3A+An+Object-Oriented+Approach+with+UML%2C+7th+Edition-p-9781394331727 Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML] (7th ed.). Wiley. [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Systems+Analysis+and+Design%3A+An+Object-Oriented+Approach+with+UML%2C+7th+Edition-p-9781394331727 ISBN 978-1-394-33172-7]. | |||
* {{cite book | * {{cite book | ||
| first = Scott William | | first = Scott William | ||
| Line 322: | Line 333: | ||
| title = Business Modelling: UML vs. IDEF | | title = Business Modelling: UML vs. IDEF | ||
| access-date = 2022-11-14 | | access-date = 2022-11-14 | ||
| archive-date = 18 July 2024 | |||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240718044149/https://www.area-c54.it/public/business%20modelling%20-%20uml%20vs%20idef.pdf | |||
| url-status = dead | |||
}} | }} | ||
* {{cite web | * {{cite web | ||
Latest revision as of 14:54, 18 November 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose, object-oriented, visual modeling language that provides a way to visualize the architecture and design of a system, like a blueprint.[1][2] UML defines notation for many types of diagrams which focus on aspects such as behavior, interaction, and structure.
UML is both a formal metamodel and a collection of graphical templates. The metamodel defines the elements in an object-oriented model such as classes and properties. It is essentially the same thing as the metamodel in object-oriented programming (OOP), however for OOP, the metamodel is primarily used at run time to dynamically inspect and modify an application object model. The UML metamodel provides a mathematical, formal foundation for the graphic views used in the modeling language to describe an emerging system.
UML was created in an attempt to define a standard language for object-oriented programming at the OOPSLA '95 Conference. Originally, Grady Booch and James Rumbaugh merged their models into a unified model. This was followed by Booch's company Rational Software purchasing Ivar Jacobson's Objectory company and merging their model into the UML. At the time Rational and Objectory were two of the dominant players in the small world of independent vendors of object-oriented tools and methods.[3] The Object Management Group (OMG) then took ownership of UML.
The creation of UML was motivated by the desire to standardize the disparate nature of notational systems and approaches to software design at the time.[4] In 1997, UML was adopted as a standard by the Object Management Group (OMG) and has been managed by this organization ever since. In 2005, UML was also published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as the ISO/IEC 19501 standard.[5] Since then the standard has been periodically revised to cover the latest revision of UML.[6]
Most developers do not use UML per se, but instead produce more informal diagrams, often hand-drawn. These diagrams, however, often include elements from UML.[7]Template:Rp
Use
UML is primarily used for software development (in any industry or domain)[8] but also used outside elsewhere including business processes, system functions, database schemas, workflow in the legal systems, medical electronics, Health care systems, and hardware design.[9]
UML is designed for use with many object-oriented software development methods; both today and for the methods when it was first developed including OMT, Booch method, Objectory, and especially for RUP which it was originally intended to be used with when work began at Rational Software.[10] Although originally intended for object-oriented design documentation, UML has been used effectively in other contexts such as modeling business process.[11][12]
As UML is not inherently linked to a particular programming language, it can be used for modeling a system independent of language. Some UML tools generate source code from a UML model.[13]
Elements
UML diagrams support visualizing system aspects like:[14]
- Use case diagram for specifying user interactions with systems
- Class diagram for specifying structures, including data structures
- Activity diagram for specifying business process workflows
- Component diagram for specifying how components interface with other components
- Deployment diagram for specifying how components are deployed and executed on computational nodes
In addition to syntactical (notational) elements with well-defined semantics, UML diagrams also allow for free-form comments (notes) that explain aspects such as usage, constraints, and intents.
Sharing
UML models can be exchanged among UML tools via the XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) format.
Cardinality notation
As with database Chen, Bachman, and ISO ER diagrams, class models are specified to use "look-across" cardinalities, even though several authors (Merise,[15] Elmasri & Navathe,[16] amongst others[17]) prefer same-side or "look-here" for roles and both minimum and maximum cardinalities. Recent researchers (Feinerer[18] and Dullea et al.[19]) have shown that the "look-across" technique used by UML and ER diagrams is less effective and less coherent when applied to n-ary relationships of order strictly greater than 2.
Feinerer says: "Problems arise if we operate under the look-across semantics as used for UML associations. Hartmann[20] investigates this situation and shows how and why different transformations fail.", and: "As we will see on the next few pages, the look-across interpretation introduces several difficulties which prevent the extension of simple mechanisms from binary to n-ary associations."
Artifacts
An artifact is the "specification of a physical piece of information that is used or produced by a software development process, or by deployment and operation of a system"[21] including models, source code, scripts, executables, tables in database systems, development deliverables, a design documents, and email messages.[21]
An artifact is the physical entity that is deployed to a node.[21] Other UML elements such as classes and components are first manifest into artifacts and instances of these artifacts are then deployed. Artifacts can be composed of other artifacts.
Metamodeling
The OMG developed a metamodeling architecture to define UML, called the Meta-Object Facility (MOF).[22] MOF is designed as a four-layered architecture, as shown in the image at right. It provides a meta-meta model at the top, called the M3 layer. This M3-model is the language used by Meta-Object Facility to build metamodels, called M2-models.
The most prominent example of a Layer 2 Meta-Object Facility model is the UML metamodel, which describes UML itself. These M2-models describe elements of the M1-layer, and thus M1-models. These would be, for example, models written in UML. The last layer is the M0-layer or data layer. It is used to describe runtime instances of the system.[23]
The metamodel can be extended using a mechanism called stereotyping. This has been criticized as being insufficient/untenable by Brian Henderson-Sellers and Cesar Gonzalez-Perez in "Uses and Abuses of the Stereotype Mechanism in UML 1.x and 2.0".[24]
Diagrams
UML 2 defines many types of diagrams Template:Endash shown as a taxonomy in the image.[14][25]
Structure diagrams
Structure diagrams emphasize the structure of the system Template:Endash using objects, classifiers, relationships, attributes and operations. They are used to document software architecture.
- Class diagram Template:Endash Describes the structure of a class
- Component diagram Template:Endash Describes how a software system is split into components and dependencies between the components
- Composite structure diagram
- Deployment diagram
- Object diagram
- Package diagram
- Profile diagram
Behavior diagrams
Behavior diagrams emphasize the behavior of a system by showing collaborations among objects and changes to the internal states of objects. They are used to describe the functionality of a system.
- Activity diagram Template:Endash Describes the business and operational activities of components
- State machine diagram
- Use case diagram Template:Endash Depicts of a user's interaction with a system[26]
Interaction diagrams
Interaction diagrams, a subset of behavior diagrams, emphasize the flow of control and data between components of a system.
- Communication diagram Template:Endash shows communication between components
- Interaction overview diagram
- Sequence diagram Template:Endash shows interactions arranged in time sequence; can be drawn via tools such as Lucidchart and Draw.io
- Timing diagram Template:Endash focuses on timing constraints
Examples
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Component diagram
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Class diagram
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Activity diagram
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Use case diagram
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Use case diagram
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Deployment diagram
Adoption
In 2013, UML had been marketed by OMG for many contexts, but aimed primarily at software development with limited success.[12][27]
It has been treated, at times, as a design silver bullet, which leads to problems. UML misuse includes overuse (designing every part of the system with it, which is unnecessary) and assuming that novices can design with it.[28]
It is considered a large language, with many constructs. Some people (including Jacobson) feel that UML's size hinders learning and therefore uptake.[29]
Visual Studio dropped support for UML in 2016 due to lack of use.[30]
According to Google Trends, use of the term UML has declined since 2004 although leveled off in the last 5 years.[31]
History
UML has evolved since the second half of the 1990s and has its roots in the object-oriented programming methods developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The image shows a timeline of the history of UML and other object-oriented modeling methods and notation.
Origin
Rational Software hired James Rumbaugh from General Electric in 1994 and after that, the company became the source for two of the most popular object-oriented modeling approaches of the day:[32] Rumbaugh's object-modeling technique (OMT) and Grady Booch's method. They were soon assisted in their efforts by Ivar Jacobson, the creator of the object-oriented software engineering (OOSE) method, who joined them at Rational in 1995.[4]
UML 1.x
UML is originally based on the notations of the Booch method, the object-modeling technique (OMT), and object-oriented software engineering (OOSE), which were integrated into a single language.[14] UML was developed at Rational Software in 1994–1995, with further development led by them through 1996.[4]
Under the technical leadership of Rumbaugh, Jacobson, and Booch, a consortium called the UML Partners was organized in 1996 to complete the Unified Modeling Language (UML) specification and propose it to the Object Management Group (OMG) for standardization. The partnership also contained additional interested parties (for example HP, DEC, IBM, and Microsoft). The UML Partners' UML 1.0 draft was proposed to the OMG in January 1997 by the consortium. During the same month, the UML Partners formed a group, designed to define the exact meaning of language constructs, chaired by Cris Kobryn and administered by Ed Eykholt, to finalize the specification and integrate it with other standardization efforts. The result of this work, UML 1.1, was submitted to the OMG in August 1997 and adopted by the OMG in November 1997.[4][33]
After the first release, a task force was formed[4] to improve the language, which released several minor revisions, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5.[34]
The standards it produced (as well as the original standard) have been noted as being ambiguous and inconsistent.[35]
UML 2
UML 2.0 major revision replaced version 1.5 in 2005, which was developed with an enlarged consortium to improve the language further to reflect new experiences on the usage of its features.[36]
Although UML 2.1 was never released as a formal specification, versions 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 appeared in 2007, followed by UML 2.2 in February 2009. UML 2.3 was formally released in May 2010.[37] UML 2.4.1 was formally released in August 2011.[37] UML 2.5 was released in October 2012 as an "In progress" version and was officially released in June 2015.[37] The formal version 2.5.1 was adopted in December 2017.[1]
There are four parts to the UML 2.x specification:
- The Superstructure that defines the notation and semantics for diagrams and their model elements
- The Infrastructure that defines the core metamodel on which the Superstructure is based
- The Object Constraint Language (OCL) for defining rules for model elements
- The UML Diagram Interchange that defines how UML 2 diagram layouts are exchanged
Until UML 2.4.1, the latest versions of these standards were:[38]
- UML Superstructure version 2.4.1
- UML Infrastructure version 2.4.1
- OCL version 2.3.1
- UML Diagram Interchange version 1.0.
Since version 2.5, the UML Specification has been simplified (without Superstructure and Infrastructure), and the latest versions of these standards are now:[39]
- UML Specification 2.5.1
- OCL version 2.4
It continues to be updated and improved by the revision task force, who resolve any issues with the language.[40]
See also
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- Real-Time UML – the application of the Unified Modelling Language (UML)
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References
Further reading
- Tegarden, David et al. (2025). Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML (7th ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-1-394-33172-7.
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External links
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Template:UML Template:Software engineering Template:ISO standards Template:Authority control
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ [1412.2458] Systems, Views and Models of UML. By Ruth Breu Radu Grosu Franz Huber Bernhard Rumpe Wolfgang Schwerin. arXiv arxiv.org
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". See the sample content: look for history
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- ↑ John Hunt (2000). The Unified Process for Practitioners: Object-oriented Design, UML and Java. Springer, 2000. Template:ISBN. p. 5.door
- ↑ Satish Mishra (1997). "Visual Modeling & Unified Modeling Language (UML): Introduction to UML" Template:Webarchive. Rational Software Corporation. Accessed 9 November 2008.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Hubert Tardieu, Arnold Rochfeld and René Colletti La methode MERISE: Principes et outils (Paperback - 1983)
- ↑ Elmasri, Ramez, B. Shamkant, Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems, third ed., Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA, USA, 2000.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite thesis
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Template:Open access
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Iman Poernomo (2006) "The Meta-Object Facility Typed Template:Webarchive" in: Proceeding SAC '06 Proceedings of the 2006 ACM symposium on Applied computing. pp. 1845–1849
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Jon Holt Institution of Electrical Engineers (2004). UML for Systems Engineering: Watching the Wheels IET, 2004, Template:ISBN. p. 58
- ↑ Manuel Almendros-Jiménez, Jesús & Iribarne, Luis. (2007). Describing Use-Case Relationships with Sequence Diagrams. Comput. J.. 50. 116-128. 10.1093/comjnl/bxl053.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". "UML truly is ubiquitous"
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Andreas Zendler (1997) Advanced Concepts, Life Cycle Models and Tools for Objeckt-Oriented Software Development. p. 122
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Génova et alia 2004 "Open Issues in Industrial Use Case Modeling"
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- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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