CENTRE FOR ICT EDUCATION

Modelling and System Design

By
Mr. M. Mulenga
Lecturer, CICTE
Overview:
1) Background
2) Principles
3) Concepts
4) OO Analysis
5) OO Design
Definition
Object Orientation is about viewing and
modeling a system as a set of interacting
and interrelated objects.
Features of the OO approach:
1) the universe consists of interacting
objects
2) describes and builds systems consisting
of objects
1) abstraction
2) encapsulation
3) modularity
4) hierarchy
 A process allowing to focus on most important
aspects while ignoring less important details.
 Abstraction allows us to manage complexity by
concentrating on essential aspects making an
entity different from others.
 Encapsulation separates implementation from
users/clients.
 A client depends on the interface.
 Modularity breaks complex systems into
small, self contained pieces that can be
managed independently.
 Ordering of abstractions into a tree-like
structure.
1. Object
2. Class
3. Attribute
4. Operation
5. Interface
6. Implementation
7. Association
8. Aggregation
9. Composition
10.Generalization
11.Super-Class
12.Sub-Class
13.Abstract Class
14.Concrete Class
15.Discriminator
16.Polymorphism
17.Realization
What is an Object
1) any abstraction that models a single
thing
2) a representation of a specific entity in the
real world
3) may be tangible (physical entity) or
intangible

Examples: specific citizen, agency, job,

location, order, etc.
Two aspects:
• Information:
1) has a unique identity
2) has a description of its structure
3) has a state representing its current
condition

• Behaviour:
1) what can an object do?
2) what can be done to it?
What is a class?

1) any uniquely identified abstraction of a set of logically

related instances that share similar characteristics
2) rules that define objects
3) a definition or template that describes how to build an
accurate representation of a specific type of objects

Examples: agency, citizen, car, etc.

Objects are created using class definitions as templates.

 Definition
Attribute is a named property of a class describing
a range of values that instances of the class may
hold for that property
 An attribute has a type and defines the type
of its instances.
 Only the object is able to change the values
of its own attributes.
 The set of attribute values defines the state
of the object.
 Definition
Operation is the implementation of a
service that can be requested from any
object of a given class
 An operation could be:

1. a question - does not change the values of

the attributes
2. a command – may change the values of the
attributes
Abstraction in Object Orientation:
1) use of objects and classes to represent reality
2) software manages abstractions based on the
changes occurring to the real-world objects
1) minimum information
required to use an object
2) allows users to access the
object’s knowledge
3) must be exposed
4) provides no direct access to
object internals
1) information required to make
an object work properly
2) a combination of the
behaviour and the resources
required to satisfy the goal of
the behaviour
3) ensures the integrity of the
information upon which the
behaviour depends
Relationships:
• between classes (relations)
• between objects (links)
Three kinds of relations between classes:
1) association
2) aggregation
3) composition
1. the simplest form of relation between classes
2. peer-to-peer relations
3. one object is aware of the existence of another object
4. implemented in objects as references
Associations between classes A and B:
1) A is a physical or logical part of B
2) A is a kind of B
3) A is contained in B
4) A is a description of B
5) A is a member of B
6) A is an organization subunit of B
7) A uses or manages B
8) A communicates with B
9) A follows B
10)A is owned by B
1. a restrictive form of “part-of” association
2. objects are assembled to create a more complex
object
3. assembly may be physical or logical
4. defines a single point of control for participating
objects
5. the aggregate object
coordinates its parts
A CPU is part of a computer.
CPU, devices, monitor and keyboard are
assembled to create a computer.
1. a stricter form of aggregation
2. lifespan of individual objects depend on the on
lifespan of the aggregate object
3. parts cannot exist on their own
4. there is a create-delete dependency of the parts
to the whole
A word cannot exist if it is not part of a line.
If a paragraph is removed, all lines of the paragraph
are removed, and all words belonging to that line
are removed.
1) a process of organizing the features of different
kinds of objects that share the same purpose
2) equivalent to “kind-of” or “type-of” relationship
3) generalization enables inheritance
4) specialization is the opposite of generalization
5) not an association
 Common features are defined in User.
 FrontOfficeEmployee and BackOfficeEmployee

inherit them.
 Definition
 A Super-Class is a class that contains

features common to two or more classes

 A Super-class is similar to a superset, e.g.

agency-staff.
Definition
A Sub-Class is a class that contains at least the
features of its super-class(es)

A class may be a sub-class and a super-class

at the same time, e.g. management-staff.
1. a class that lacks a complete implementation –
provides operations without implementing some
methods

2. cannot be used to create objects; cannot be

instantiated

3. a concrete sub-class must provide methods for

unimplemented operations
1. has methods for all operations

2. can be instantiated

3. methods may be:

a) defined in the class or
b) inherited from a super-class
Discriminator – an attribute that defines sub-classes

Example: “status” of agency staff is a possible

discriminator to derive “management”, “senior” and
“junior” sub-classes.
1. ability to dynamically choose the method for an
operation at run-time or service-time
2. facilitated by encapsulation and generalization:
a) encapsulation –
separation of interface from implementation
b) generalization –
organizing information such that the shared
features
reside in one class and unique features in
another
3. Operations could be defined and implemented in
the superclass, but re-implemented methods are in
unique sub-classes.
Many ways of doing the same thing!
Example: management-staff and agency-staff can
apply for
leave, but possibly in different ways.
1. allows a class to inherit from an interface class
without being a sub-class of the interface class
2. only inherits operations
3. cannot inherit methods,attributes or associations
A methodology for system/software modelling and
design
using Object-Oriented concepts.
Consists of two parts:
1) Object Oriented Analysis
2) Object Oriented Design
1) a discovery process
2) clarifies and documents the requirements of a
system
3) focuses on understanding the problem domain
4) discovers and documents the key problem domain
classes
5) concerned with developing an object-oriented
model of the problem domain
6) identified objects reflect the entities with the
problem to be solved
Definition
Object Oriented Analysis (OOA) is concerned with
developing requirements and specifications
expressed as an object model(population of
interacting objects) of a system, as opposed to the
traditional data or functional views.
[Software Engineering Institute]
1) maintainability: simplified mapping to the real
world
a) less analysis effort
b) less complexity in system design
c) easier verification by the user
2) reusability: reuse of the artifacts that are
independent of the analysis method or
programming language
3) productivity: direct mapping to the features
implemented in Object Oriented Programming
Languages
• process of invention and adaptation
• creates abstractions and mechanisms necessary to
meet behavioural requirements determined during
analysis
language-independent
• provides an object-oriented model of a software
system to implement the identified requirements
Definition [SEI]
Object Oriented Design (OOD) is concerned with
developing object-oriented models of a
software/system to implement the requirements
identified during OOA.
The same set of benefits as those in OOA.
Stages in OOD:
1) define the context and modes of use of the
system
2) design the system architecture
3) identify the principal objects in the system
4) develop design models
5) specify object interfaces
Notes on the OOD activities:
1) activities are not strictly linear but interleaved
2) back-tracking may be done a number of times
due to
refinement or availability of more information
Object is any abstraction that models a single thing
in a
universe with some defined properties and
behaviour.
A class is any uniquely identified abstraction of a set
of
logically related objects that share similar
characteristics.
Classes may be related by three types of relations:
1) association
2) aggregation
3) composition
Object Orientation is characterized by:
1) encapsulation – combination of data and
behaviour,separation of an interface from
implementation
2) inheritance – generalization and specialization of
classes,forms of hierarchy
3) polymorphism – different implementations for
the shared operations depending on the position
of the involving object in the inheritance hierarchy.