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Sequence Diagram Notations

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63 views9 pages

Sequence Diagram Notations

Uploaded by

Ajay Pathak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sequence Diagram Notations

1. Actors
An actor in a UML diagram represents a type of role where it interacts with the system and
its objects. It is important to note here that an actor is always outside the scope of the
system we aim to model using the UML diagram.

We use actors to depict various roles including human users and other external subjects.
We represent an actor in a UML diagram using a stick person notation. We can have
multiple actors in a sequence diagram.
For example:
Here the user in seat reservation system is shown as an actor where it exists outside the
system and is not a part of the system.

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2. Lifelines
A lifeline is a named element which depicts an individual participant in a sequence
diagram. So basically each instance in a sequence diagram is represented by a lifeline.
Lifeline elements are located at the top in a sequence diagram. The standard in UML for
naming a lifeline follows the following format:
Instance Name : Class Name

• Difference between a lifeline and an actor


o A lifeline always portrays an object internal to the system whereas actors are
used to depict objects external to the system.
The following is an example of a sequence diagram:

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3. Messages
Communication between objects is depicted using messages. The messages appear in a
sequential order on the lifeline.
• We represent messages using arrows.
• Lifelines and messages form the core of a sequence diagram.

Messages can be broadly classified into the following categories:


3.1. Synchronous messages
A synchronous message waits for a reply before the interaction can move forward. The
sender waits until the receiver has completed the processing of the message. The caller
continues only when it knows that the receiver has processed the previous message i.e. it
receives a reply message.
• A large number of calls in object oriented programming are synchronous.
• We use a solid arrow head to represent a synchronous message.

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3.2. Asynchronous Messages
An asynchronous message does not wait for a reply from the receiver. The interaction
moves forward irrespective of the receiver processing the previous message or not. We
use a lined arrow head to represent an asynchronous message.

4. Create message
We use a Create message to instantiate a new object in the sequence diagram. There are
situations when a particular message call requires the creation of an object. It is
represented with a dotted arrow and create word labelled on it to specify that it is the
create Message symbol.
For example:
The creation of a new order on a e-commerce website would require a new object of
Order class to be created.

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5. Delete Message
We use a Delete Message to delete an object. When an object is deallocated memory or
is destroyed within the system we use the Delete Message symbol. It destroys the
occurrence of the object in the system.It is represented by an arrow terminating with a x.
For example:
In the scenario below when the order is received by the user, the object of order class can
be destroyed.

6. Self Message
Certain scenarios might arise where the object needs to send a message to itself. Such
messages are called Self Messages and are represented with a U shaped arrow.

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For example:
Consider a scenario where the device wants to access its webcam. Such a scenario is
represented using a self message.

7. Reply Message
Reply messages are used to show the message being sent from the receiver to the
sender. We represent a return/reply message using an open arrow head with a dotted
line. The interaction moves forward only when a reply message is sent by the receiver.

For example:
Consider the scenario where the device requests a photo from the user. Here the
message which shows the photo being sent is a reply message.

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8. Found Message
A Found message is used to represent a scenario where an unknown source sends the
message. It is represented using an arrow directed towards a lifeline from an end point.
For example:
Consider the scenario of a hardware failure.

It can be due to multiple reasons and we are not certain as to what caused the hardware
failure.

9. Lost Message
A Lost message is used to represent a scenario where the recipient is not known to the
system. It is represented using an arrow directed towards an end point from a lifeline.
For example:
Consider a scenario where a warning is generated.

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The warning might be generated for the user or other software/object that the lifeline is
interacting with. Since the destination is not known before hand, we use the Lost Message
symbol.

10. Guards
To model conditions we use guards in UML. They are used when we need to restrict the
flow of messages on the pretext of a condition being met. Guards play an important role in
letting software developers know the constraints attached to a system or a particular
process.
For example:
In order to be able to withdraw cash, having a balance greater than zero is a condition
that must be met as shown below.

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The above sequence diagram depicts the sequence diagram for an emotion based music
player:
• Firstly the application is opened by the user.
• The device then gets access to the web cam.
• The webcam captures the image of the user.
• The device uses algorithms to detect the face and predict the mood.
• It then requests database for dictionary of possible moods.
• The mood is retrieved from the database.
• The mood is displayed to the user.
• The music is requested from the database.
• The playlist is generated and finally shown to the user.

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