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UML - Component Diagrams - Tutorialspoint PDF

Component diagrams model the physical aspects of a system, such as executables, libraries, and files. They visualize the organization and relationships between components. The purpose is to describe the components used to build system functionalities, rather than the functionality itself. Component diagrams represent a static view of how components are organized at a given time. They are used during implementation to understand how to construct executable systems from identified physical artifacts.

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214 views

UML - Component Diagrams - Tutorialspoint PDF

Component diagrams model the physical aspects of a system, such as executables, libraries, and files. They visualize the organization and relationships between components. The purpose is to describe the components used to build system functionalities, rather than the functionality itself. Component diagrams represent a static view of how components are organized at a given time. They are used during implementation to understand how to construct executable systems from identified physical artifacts.

Uploaded by

skarthikpriya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10/31/2020 UML - Component Diagrams - Tutorialspoint

UML - Component Diagrams

Component diagrams are different in terms of nature and behavior. Component diagrams are used
to model the physical aspects of a system. Now the question is, what are these physical aspects?
Physical aspects are the elements such as executables, libraries, files, documents, etc. which
reside in a node.
Component diagrams are used to visualize the organization and relationships among components
in a system. These diagrams are also used to make executable systems.

Purpose of Component Diagrams


Component diagram is a special kind of diagram in UML. The purpose is also different from all
other diagrams discussed so far. It does not describe the functionality of the system but it describes
the components used to make those functionalities.
Thus from that point of view, component diagrams are used to visualize the physical components in
a system. These components are libraries, packages, files, etc.
Component diagrams can also be described as a static implementation view of a system. Static
implementation represents the organization of the components at a particular moment.
A single component diagram cannot represent the entire system but a collection of diagrams is
used to represent the whole.
The purpose of the component diagram can be summarized as −
Visualize the components of a system.
Construct executables by using forward and reverse engineering.
Describe the organization and relationships of the components.

How to Draw a Component Diagram?


Component diagrams are used to describe the physical artifacts of a system. This artifact includes
files, executables, libraries, etc
The purpose of this diagram is different. Component diagrams are used during the implementation
phase of an application. However, it is prepared well in advance to visualize the implementation
details.
Initially, the system is designed using different UML diagrams and then when the artifacts are
ready, component diagrams are used to get an idea of the implementation.

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10/31/2020 UML - Component Diagrams - Tutorialspoint

This diagram is very important as without it the application cannot be implemented efficiently. A
well-prepared component diagram is also important for other aspects such as application
performance, maintenance, etc.
Before drawing a component diagram, the following artifacts are to be identified clearly −
Files used in the system.

Libraries and other artifacts relevant to the application.


Relationships among the artifacts.
After identifying the artifacts, the following points need to be kept in mind.

Use a meaningful name to identify the component for which the diagram is to be drawn.
Prepare a mental layout before producing the using tools.
Use notes for clarifying important points.
Following is a component diagram for order management system. Here, the artifacts are files. The
diagram shows the files in the application and their relationships. In actual, the component diagram
also contains dlls, libraries, folders, etc.
In the following diagram, four files are identified and their relationships are produced. Component
diagram cannot be matched directly with other UML diagrams discussed so far as it is drawn for
completely different purpose.

The following component diagram has been drawn considering all the points mentioned above.

Where to Use Component Diagrams?

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10/31/2020 UML - Component Diagrams - Tutorialspoint

We have already described that component diagrams are used to visualize the static
implementation view of a system. Component diagrams are special type of UML diagrams used for
different purposes.
These diagrams show the physical components of a system. To clarify it, we can say that
component diagrams describe the organization of the components in a system.
Organization can be further described as the location of the components in a system. These
components are organized in a special way to meet the system requirements.
As we have already discussed, those components are libraries, files, executables, etc. Before
implementing the application, these components are to be organized. This component organization
is also designed separately as a part of project execution.
Component diagrams are very important from implementation perspective. Thus, the
implementation team of an application should have a proper knowledge of the component details
Component diagrams can be used to −

Model the components of a system.


Model the database schema.

Model the executables of an application.


Model the system's source code.

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