CENTRE FOR ICT EDUCATION

UML Basics
By
Mr. M. Mulenga
Lecturer, CICTE
Modeling involves:
1) representation or simplification of reality
2) providing a blueprint of a system
1) better understand the system we are
developing
2) describe the structure or behaviour of the
system
3) experiment by exploring multiple solutions
4) furnish abstraction for managing complexity
5) document the design decisions
6) visualize the system “as-is” and ”to-be”
7) provide a template for constructing a system
1) the choice of models affects how a problem
is tackled
2) every model may be expressed at different
levels of abstraction
3) effective models are connected to reality
4) no single model is sufficient to describe
non-trivial systems
 UML = Unified Modeling Language
 A language for visualizing, specifying, constructing
and documenting artifacts of software-intensive
systems.

 Examples of artifacts: requirements, architecture,

design, source code, test cases, prototypes, etc.

 UML is suitable for modeling various kinds of

systems:
◦ 1. enterprise information systems,
◦ 2. distributed web-based,
◦ 3. real-time embedded system, etc.
Provides views for development and deployment.
UML is process-independent.
UML is recommended for use with the processes that
are:
1) use-case driven
2) architecture-centric
3) iterative
4) incremental
1) provide modelers with an expressive, visual
modeling language to develop and exchange
meaningful models

2) provide extensibility and specialization

mechanisms to extend core concepts

3) support specifications that are independent of

particular programming languages and
development processes
4) provide a basis for understanding
specification languages

5) encourage the growth of the object tools

market

6) support higher level of development with

concepts such as component, frameworks
or patterns
Three basic building blocks:

1) elements: main “citizens” of the model

2) relationships: relationships that tie
elements together
3) diagrams: mechanisms to group interesting
collections of elements and relationships

They will be used to represent complex

structures.
Four basic types of elements:
1) structural
2) behavioural
3) grouping
4) annotation
They will be used to specify well-formed
models.
a) static part of the model to represent conceptual
elements
b) “nouns” of the model
c) seven kinds of structural elements:
1) class
2) interface
3) collaboration
4) use case
5) active class
6) component
7) node
1) description of a set of
objects that share the same
attributes, operations,
relationships and semantics
2) implements one or more
interfaces
3) graphically rendered as a
rectangle usually including
a name, attributes and
operations
4) can be also used to
represent actors,
signals and utilities
1) collection of operations
that specifies a service of a
class
2) describes the externally
visible behaviour, partial or
complete, of a class
3) defines a set of operation
signatures but not their
implementations
4) rendered as a circle with a
name
1) defines an interaction between
elements

2) several elements cooperating to

deliver a behaviour, rather than
individual behaviour

3) includes structural and

behavioural dimensions

4) represents implementations of
patterns of cooperation that
make up a system

5) represented as a named
ellipse drawn with a dashed line
1) description of a sequence of
actions that a system performs to
deliver an observable result to a
particular actor

2) used to structure the behavioural

elements in a model

3) realized by collaboration
4) graphically rendered as an
ellipse drawn with a solid line
1) a class whose objects own
one or more processes or
threads and therefore can
initiate an action
2) a class whose objects have
concurrent behaviour with
other objects
3) it also can be used to
represent processes and
threads
4) graphically, an active class
is rendered just like a class
drawn with a thick line
1) a sequence of states an object or
interaction goes through during its lifetime,
and its response to external events

2) may specify the behaviour of an individual

class or a collaboration of classes

3) includes a number of elements: states,

transition, events and activities

4) presented as a rounded rectangle with a

name and sub-states

Interactions and state machines are

associated with structural
elements such as classes, collaborations and
objects.
Grouping element of UML:
• organizes diagrams
• primary kind of grouping and
decomposition
• conceptual, only available at
development time
• graphically represented
as a tabbed folder
Annotation element:
• comments added to models for better
explanation or illumination on specific
elements

• used primarily for annotation e.g.

rendering constraints and comments
attached to elements or collections of
elements

• presented as a rectangle with a dog-

eared corner

• may include both textual and graphical

comments
Identify the UML element which best models each
of the following entities:

1) Jackie Chan
2) a set of operations for validating dates
3) a module capable of validating dates based on the
operations in 2
4) a set of trainees
5) “withdraw money” request from an ATM system
6) a computer server that hosts the payroll system
Four basic types of relationships:

1) dependency
2) associations
3) generalization
4) Realization

Meanings are consistent with the basic Object

Oriented relationship types described earlier.
A semantic relationship between two elements in
which a change to one element (independent
element) may affect the meaning of another
(dependent element).
Given as a directed dashed line possibly with a
label:
1) a structural relationship describing a set of links
2) links are connections between objects
3) aggregation is a special type of association depicting the
whole-part relationship
4) association is presented as a solid line, possibly
directed,labelled and with adornments (multiplicity and role
names)
1) a relationship in which objects of a specialized element (child)
are substitutable for objects of a generalized element (parent)
2) child elements share the structure/behaviour of the parent
3) rendered graphically as a solid
line with hollow arrowheadpointing to the parent
1) a semantic relationship between elements,
wherein one element specifies a contract and
another guarantees to carry out this contract

2) relevant in two basic scenarios:

a) interfaces versus realizing classes/components
b) uses cases versus realizing collaborations

3) graphically depicted as a dashed arrow with

hollow head,a cross between dependency and
generalization
Variations of these four relationship types
include:
1) refinement
2) trace
3) include
4) extend
Define the relationship type which best relates
the following classes:

1) Employee – Administrative officers

2) Employee – Office
3) Application Software – Operating system
4) PC - Device
A diagram is a graph presentation of a set of
elements and relationships where:
a) nodes are elements
b) edges are relationships

Can visualize a system from various

perspectives, thus a projection of a system.
UML is characterized by nine major diagrams:
1) class
2) object
3) use case
4) sequence
5) collaboration
6) statechart
7) activity
8) component
9) deployment
Class Diagrams:
1) show a set of classes, interfaces and
collaborations, and their relationships
2) address static design view of a system
Object Diagrams:
1) show a set of objects and their relationships
2) static snapshots of element instances found
in class diagrams
1) shows a set of actors and use cases, and
their relationships
2) addresses static use case view of the
system
3) is important for organizing and modelling
the external behaviour of the system
Sequence Diagrams:
1) shows interactions consisting of a set of objects
and the messages sent and received by those
objects

2) addresses the dynamic behaviour of a system with

special emphasis on the chronological ordering of
messages
Collaboration Diagram:
1) shows the structural and organization of objects
that send receive messages

Sequence and collaboration diagrams:

• are jointly called interaction diagrams
• can be transformed one into another
1) shows a state machine consisting of states,
transitions,events, and activities
2) addresses the dynamic view of a system
3) is important in modelling the behaviour of an
interface,class or collaboration
4) emphasizes the event-driven ordering
1) shows control/data flows from one activity
to another
2) addresses the dynamic view of a system,
useful for modelling its functions
3) emphasizes the flow of control among
objects
1) shows the organization and dependencies
amongst a set of components

2) addresses static implementation view of a system

3) shows how components map to one or more

classes, interfaces and collaborations
1) shows configuration of run-time
processing nodes and the components
hosted on them
2) addresses the static deployment view of an
architecture
3) is related to component diagram with
nodes hosting one or more components
Modelling views – different perspectives on the
system:
 Use Case View
 Design View
 Process View
 Implementation View
 Deployment View

A view is essentially a set of diagrams.

 Use Case View describes the behaviour of the
system as seen by its end users, analysts and
testers.
 This view shapes the system architecture.
Design View encompasses:
1) classes,
2) interfaces and
3) collaborations
that form the vocabulary of the problem and its
solution.
Process View encompasses threads and processes
that form the system’s concurrency and
synchronization mechanisms.

This view addresses:

1) performance,
2) scalability and
3) Throughput

of the system.
Implementation View encompasses the components
and files that are used to assemble and release the
physical system.

This view addresses the configuration management

of the system’s releases.
Different modelling views for different system
types:
1) monolithic systems
2) distributed systems
3) etc.
Two views are relevant:
1) Use case View: use case diagrams
2) Design View:
a) class diagrams (structural modelling)
b) interaction diagrams (behavioural modelling)
3) Process View: none
4) Implementation View: none
5) Deployment View: none
All five views are relevant:
1) Use case View:
a) use case diagrams
b) activity diagrams
2) Design View:
a) class diagrams
b) interaction diagrams
c) statechart diagram
3) Process View:
a) class diagram
b) interaction diagrams
4) Implementation View: component diagrams
5) Deployment View: deployment diagrams
A model provides a blueprint of a system.

UML is a language for visualizing, specifying,

constructing and documenting artifacts of
software-intensive systems.

UML is process-independent but recommended for

use with processes that are: use case driven,
architecture-centric,iterative and incremental.
There are three building blocks which characterize UML:
elements, relationships and diagrams.

Categories of elements in UML include:

1. structural
2. behavioural
3. grouping
4. annotation
There are four basic types of relationships in UML:
1. dependency
2. association
3. generalization
4. realization
UML provides 9 diagrams for modelling:

1. class diagrams
2. object diagrams
3. use case diagrams
4. sequence diagrams
5. collaboration diagrams
6. statechart diagrams
7. activity diagrams
8. component diagrams
9. deployment diagrams

There are five different modelling views in UML: use

case,design, process, implementation and deployment.