UNIFIED MODELING LANGUAGE - UML

UML is a standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the
artifacts of software systems.
UML was created by the Object Management Group (OMG) and UML 1.0 specification draft
was proposed to the OMG in January 1997.
 UML stands for Unified Modeling Language.
 UML is different from the other common programming languages such as C++, Java,
COBOL, etc.
 UML is a pictorial language used to make software blueprints.
 UML can be described as a general purpose visual modeling language to visualize,
specify, construct, and document software system.
UML is not a programming language but tools can be used to generate code in various
languages using UML diagrams. UML has a direct relation with object oriented analysis and
design. After some standardization, UML has become an OMG standard.

Goals of UML
A picture is worth a thousand words, this idiom absolutely fits describing UML. The most
important goal is to define some general purpose modeling language, which all modelers can
use and it also needs to be made simple to understand and use.
UML diagrams are not only made for developers but also for business users, common people,
and anybody interested to understand the system. Thus it must be clear that UML is not a
development method rather it accompanies with processes to make it a successful system.
In conclusion, the goal of UML can be defined as a simple modeling mechanism to model all
possible practical systems in today’s complex environment.

A Conceptual Model of UML

 A conceptual model can be defined as a model which is made of concepts and their
relationships.
 A conceptual model is the first step before drawing a UML diagram. It helps to
understand the entities in the real world and how they interact with each other.
As UML describes the real-time systems, it is very important to make a conceptual model and
then proceed gradually. The conceptual model of UML can be mastered by learning the
following three major elements −
 UML building blocks
 Rules to connect the building blocks
 Common mechanisms of UML

Object-Oriented Concepts
UML can be described as the successor of object-oriented (OO) analysis and design.
An object contains both data and methods that control the data. The data represents the state of
the object. A class describes an object and they also form a hierarchy to model the real-world
system. The hierarchy is represented as inheritance and the classes can also be associated in
different ways as per the requirement.
Objects are the real-world entities that exist around us and the basic concepts such as
abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism all can be represented using UML.
UML is powerful enough to represent all the concepts that exist in object-oriented analysis and
design. UML diagrams are representation of object-oriented concepts only. Thus, before
learning UML, it becomes important to understand OO concept in detail.
Following are some fundamental concepts of the object-oriented world −
 Objects − Objects represent an entity and the basic building block.
 Class − Class is the blue print of an object.
 Abstraction − Abstraction represents the behavior of a real world entity.
 Encapsulation − Encapsulation is the mechanism of binding the data together and
hiding them from the outside world.
 Inheritance − Inheritance is the mechanism of making new classes from existing ones.
 Polymorphism − It defines the mechanism to exists in different forms.
 UML Building Blocks

The building blocks of UML can be defined as −

 Things
 Relationships
 Diagrams

Things

Things are the most important building blocks of UML. Things can be −

 Structural
 Behavioral
 Grouping
 Annotational

Structural Things

Structural things define the static part of the model. They represent the physical and conceptual
elements. Following are the brief descriptions of the structural things.
 Class − Class represents a set of objects having similar responsibilities.

 Interface − Interface defines a set of operations, which specify the responsibility of a

class.

 Collaboration −Collaboration defines an interaction between elements.

  Use case −Use case represents a set of actions performed by a system for a specific goal.

 Component −Component describes the physical part of a system.

 Node − A node can be defined as a physical element that exists at run time.

Behavioral Things

A behavioral thing consists of the dynamic parts of UML models. Following are the behavioral
things −
 Interaction − Interaction is defined as a behavior that consists of a group of messages
exchanged among elements to accomplish a specific task.

 State machine − State machine is useful when the state of an object in its life cycle is
important. It defines the sequence of states an object goes through in response to events.
Events are external factors responsible for state change
Grouping Things

Grouping things can be defined as a mechanism to group elements of a UML model together.

There is only one grouping thing available −
 Package − Package is the only one grouping thing available for gathering structural and
behavioral things.

Annotational Things

Annotational things can be defined as a mechanism to capture remarks, descriptions, and

comments of UML model elements. 
 Note - It is the only one Annotational thing available. A note is used to render
comments, constraints, etc. of an UML element.

Relationship

Relationship is another most important building block of UML. It shows how the elements are
associated with each other and this association describes the functionality of an application.
There are four kinds of relationships available.

 Dependency

Dependency is a relationship between two things in which change in one element also
affects the other.
  Association

Association is basically a set of links that connects the elements of a UML model. It also
describes how many objects are taking part in that relationship.

 Generalization

Generalization can be defined as a relationship which connects a specialized element

with a generalized element. It basically describes the inheritance relationship in the
world of objects.

 Realization

Realization can be defined as a relationship in which two elements are connected. One element
describes some responsibility, which is not implemented and the other one implements them.
This relationship exists in case of interfaces.
 UML Diagrams

UML diagrams are the ultimate output of the entire discussion. All the elements, relationships
are used to make a complete UML diagram and the diagram represents a system.
The visual effect of the UML diagram is the most important part of the entire process. All the
other elements are used to make it complete.
UML includes the following nine diagrams:

 Class diagram
 Object diagram
 Use case diagram
 Sequence diagram
 Collaboration diagram
 Activity diagram
 State chart diagram
 Deployment diagram
 Component diagram

UML Architecture
Any real-world system is used by different users. The users can be developers, testers, business
people, analysts, and many more. Hence, before designing a system, the architecture is made
with different perspectives in mind. The most important part is to visualize the system from the
perspective of different viewers. The better we understand the better we can build the system.
UML plays an important role in defining different perspectives of a system. These perspectives
are −
 Design
 Implementation
 Process
 Deployment
The center is the Use Case view which connects all these four. A Use Case represents the
functionality of the system. Hence, other perspectives are connected with use case.
Design of a system consists of classes, interfaces, and collaboration. UML provides class
diagram, object diagram to support this.
Implementation defines the components assembled together to make a complete physical
system. UML component diagram is used to support the implementation perspective.
Process defines the flow of the system. Hence, the same elements as used in design are also
used to support this perspective.
Deployment represents the physical nodes of the system that forms the hardware. UML
deployment diagram is used to support this perspective.

UML Modeling Types

It is very important to distinguish between the UML models. Different diagrams are used for
different types of UML modeling. There are three important types of UML modeling.

Structural Modeling
Structural modeling captures the static features of a system. They consist of the following −
 Classes diagrams
 Objects diagrams
 Deployment diagrams
 Package diagrams
 Composite structure diagram
 Component diagram
Structural model represents the framework for the system and this framework is the place where
all other components exist. Hence, the class diagram, component diagram and deployment
diagrams are part of structural modeling. They all represent the elements and the mechanism to
assemble them.
The structural model never describes the dynamic behavior of the system. Class diagram is the
most widely used structural diagram.
Behavioral Modeling
Behavioral model describes the interaction in the system. It represents the interaction among the
structural diagrams. Behavioral modeling shows the dynamic nature of the system. They consist
of the following −
 Activity diagrams
 Interaction diagrams
 Use case diagrams
All the above diagrams show the dynamic sequence of flow in a system.

Architectural Modeling
Architectural model represents the overall framework of the system. It contains both structural
and behavioral elements of the system. Architectural model can be defined as the blueprint of
the entire system. Package diagram comes under architectural modeling.

UML Basic Notations

UML is popular for its diagrammatic notations. UML is for visualizing, specifying, constructing
and documenting the components of software and non-software systems. Hence, visualization is
the most important part which needs to be understood and remembered.
UML notations are the most important elements in modeling. Efficient and appropriate use of
notations is very important for making a complete and meaningful model. The model is useless,
unless its purpose is depicted properly.
Different notations are available for things and relationships. UML diagrams are made using the
notations of things and relationships. Extensibility is another important feature which makes
UML more powerful and flexible.

Structural Things

Graphical notations used in structural things are most widely used in UML. These are
considered as the nouns of UML models. Following are the list of structural things.

 Classes
  Object
 Interface
 Collaboration
 Use case
 Active classes
 Components
 Nodes

Class Notation

UML class is represented by the following figure. The diagram is divided into four parts.

 The top section is used to name the class.

 The second one is used to show the attributes of the class.
 The third section is used to describe the operations performed by the class.
 The fourth section is optional to show any additional components.

Classes are used to represent objects. Objects can be anything having properties and
responsibility.

Object Notation

The object is represented in the same way as the class. The only difference is the name which is
underlined as shown in the following figure.
As the object is an actual implementation of a class, it is known as the instance of a class.
Hence, it has the same usage as the class.

Interface Notation

Interface is represented by a circle as shown in the following figure. It has a name which is
generally written below the circle.

Interface is used to describe the functionality without implementation. Interface is just like a
template where you define different functions, not the implementation. When a class
implements the interface, it also implements the functionality as per requirement.

Collaboration Notation

Collaboration is represented by a dotted eclipse as shown in the following figure. It has a name
written inside the eclipse.
Collaboration represents responsibilities. Generally, responsibilities are in a group.

Use Case Notation

Use case is represented as an eclipse with a name inside it. It may contain additional
responsibilities.

Use case is used to capture high level functionalities of a system.

Actor Notation

An actor can be defined as some internal or external entity that interacts with the system.
An actor is used in a use case diagram to describe the internal or external entities.

Initial State Notation

Initial state is defined to show the start of a process. This notation is used in almost all
diagrams. The usage of Initial State Notation is to show the starting point of a process.

Final State Notation

Final state is used to show the end of a process. This notation is also used in almost all diagrams
to describe the end. The usage of Final State Notation is to show the termination point of a
process.

Active Class Notation

Active class looks similar to a class with a solid border. Active class is generally used to
describe the concurrent behavior of a system. Active class is used to represent the concurrency
in a system.
Component Notation

A component in UML is shown in the following figure with a name inside. Additional elements
can be added wherever required. Component is used to represent any part of a system for which
UML diagrams are made.

Node Notation

A node in UML is represented by a square box as shown in the following figure with a name. A
node represents the physical component/part of the system such as the server, network, etc.
Behavioral Things

Dynamic parts are one of the most important elements in UML. UML has a set of powerful
features to represent the dynamic part of software and non-software systems. These features
include interactions and state machines.
Interactions can be of two types −

 Sequential (Represented by sequence diagram)

 Collaborative (Represented by collaboration diagram)

Interaction Notation

Interaction is basically a message exchange between two UML components. The following
diagram represents different notations used in an interaction. Interaction is used to represent the
communication among the components of a system.
State Machine Notation

State machine describes the different states of a system component in its life cycle. The state
can be active, idle, or any other depending upon the situation.
The notations are described in the following diagram.

Grouping Things

Organizing the UML models is one of the most important aspects of the design. In UML, there
is only one element available for grouping and that is package.

Package Notation

Package notation is shown in the following figure and is used to wrap the components of a
system.
Annotational Things

In any diagram, explanation of different elements and their functionalities are very important.
Hence, UML has notes notation to support this requirement.

Note Notation

This notation is shown in the following figure. These notations are used to provide necessary
information of a system.

Relationships

A model is not complete unless the relationships between elements are described properly.
The Relationship gives a proper meaning to a UML model. Following are the different types of
relationships available in UML.

 Dependency
 Association
 Generalization
 Extensibility

Dependency Notation
Dependency is an important aspect in UML elements. Dependency is used to represent the
dependency between two elements of a system. It describes the dependent elements and the
direction of dependency.
Dependency is represented by a dotted arrow as shown in the following figure. The arrow head
represents the independent element and the other end represents the dependent element.

Association Notation

Association describes how the elements in a UML diagram are associated. Association is used
to represent the relationship between two elements of a system i.e. it describes how many
elements are taking part in an interaction.
Association is represented by a dotted line with (without) arrows on both sides. The two ends
represent two associated elements as shown in the following figure. The multiplicity is also
mentioned at the ends (1, *, etc.) to show how many objects are associated.

Generalization Notation

Generalization describes the inheritance relationship of the object-oriented world.

Generalization is used to describe parent-child relationship of two elements of a system.
Generalization is represented by an arrow with a hollow arrow head as shown in the following
figure. One end represents the parent element and the other end represents the child element.

Extensibility Notation

All the languages (programming or modeling) have some mechanism to extend its capabilities
such as syntax, semantics, etc. Extensibility notations are used to enhance the power of the
language. It is basically additional elements used to represent some extra behavior of the
system. These extra behaviors are not covered by the standard available notations.
UML also has the following mechanisms to provide extensibility features.

 Stereotypes (Represents new elements)

 Tagged values (Represents new attributes)
 Constraints (Represents the boundaries)