Class Diagrams

Purpose of Class Diagrams

1. Shows static structure of classifiers in a system
2. Diagram provides a basic notation for other structure
diagrams prescribed by UML
3. Helpful for developers and other team members too
Class Diagram Components
• A UML class diagram is made up of:
• A set of classes and
• A set of relationships between classes
What is a Class?
• A description of a group of objects all with similar roles in the
system, which consists of:
• Structural features (attributes) define what objects of the
class "know"
• Represent the state of an object of the class
• Are descriptions of the structural or static features of a class
• Behavioral features (operations) define what objects of the
class "can do"
• Define the way in which objects may interact
• Operations are descriptions of behavioral or dynamic features of
a class
Class Notation
• A class notation consists of three parts:
• Class Name
• The name of the class appears in the first partition.
• Class Attributes
• Attributes are shown in the second partition.
• The attribute type is shown after the colon.
• Attributes map onto member variables (data members) in code.
• Class Operations (Methods)
• Operations are shown in the third partition. They are services the
class provides.
• The return type of a method is shown after the colon at the end of
the method signature.
• The return type of method parameters is shown after the colon
following the parameter name.
• Operations map onto class methods in code
Class Notation (contd.)
• The graphical
representation of the
class - MyClass as
shown:
• MyClass has 3 attributes
and 3 operations
• Parameter p3 of op2 is
of type int
• op2 returns a float
• op3 returns a pointer
(denoted by a *) to
Class6
Class Relationships
• A class may be involved in one or more
relationships with other classes. A relationship
can be one of the following types:
• Inheritance
• Simple Association
• Aggregation
• Composition
Inheritance (Generalizatio
n)
• Represents an "is-a"
relationship.
• An abstract class name
is shown in italics.
• SubClass1 and
SubClass2 are
specializations of
Super Class.
• A solid line with a
hollow arrowhead that
point from the child to
the parent class
Inheritance Example - Cell
Taxonomy
Simple Association
• A structural link
between two peer
classes.
• There is an
association between
Class1 and Class2
• A solid line
connecting two
classes
Aggregation:
• A special type of
association. It represents a
"part of" relationship.
• Class2 is part of Class1.
• Many instances (denoted
by the *) of Class2 can be
associated with Class1.
• Objects of Class1 and
Class2 have separate
lifetimes.
• A solid line with an unfilled
diamond at the association
end connected to the class
of composite
Aggregation Example -
Computer and parts
Composition
• A special type of
aggregation where parts
are destroyed when the
whole is destroyed.
• Objects of Class2 live
and die with Class1.
• Class2 cannot stand by
itself.
• A solid line with a filled
diamond at the
association connected to
the class of composite
Composition Example –
Person and Body parts
Relationship Names
• Names of relationships are written in the middle of the
association line.
• Good relation names make sense when you read them
out loud:
• "Every spreadsheet contains some number of cells",
• "an expression evaluates to a value"
• They often have a small arrowhead to show the
direction in which direction to read the relationship, e.g.,
expressions evaluate to values, but values do not
evaluate to expressions.
Relationship Names
Relationship - Roles
• A role is a directional purpose of an association.
• Roles are written at the ends of an association
line and describe the purpose played by that
class in the relationship.
• E.g., A cell is related to an expression. The
nature of the relationship is that the
expression is the formula of the cell.
Navigability
• The arrows indicate whether, given one instance
participating in a relationship, it is possible to determine
the instances of the other class that are related to it.
• The diagram above suggests that,
• Given a spreadsheet, we can locate all of the cells that it
contains, but that
• we cannot determine from a cell in what spreadsheet
it is contained.
• Given a cell, we can obtain the related expression and
value, but
• given a value (or expression) we cannot find the cell of
which those are attributes.
Visibility of Class attributes
and Operations
• In object-oriented design, there is a notation of visibility
for attributes and operations. UML identifies four types
of visibility: public, protected, private, and package.
• The +, -, # and ~ symbols before an attribute and
operation name in a class denote the visibility of the
attribute and operation.
• + denotes public attributes or operations
• - denotes private attributes or operations
• # denotes protected attributes or operations
• ~ denotes package attributes or operations
Class Visibility Example

•attribute1 and op1

of MyClassName are
public
•attribute3 and op3
are protected.
•attribute2 and op2
are private.
Class Visibility Summary
Multiplicity
• How many objects of each class take part in the
relationships and multiplicity can be expressed as:
• Exactly one - 1
• Zero or one - 0..1
• Many - 0..* or *
• One or more - 1..*
• Exact Number - e.g. 3..4 or 6
• Or a complex relationship - e.g. 0..1, 3..4, 6.*
would mean any number of objects other than 2
or 5
Multiplicity Example
• Requirement: A Student can take many Courses
and many Students can be enrolled in one
Course.
1)Nouns: Look for nouns in the problem statement or domain description.
These often represent potential classes. For example, in a banking system,
you might have classes like Account, Customer, Transaction, etc.
2)Responsibilities: Consider the responsibilities or behaviors that objects
must have or perform within the system. Each responsibility might indicate
a potential class. For instance, if an object needs to calculate something or
perform a specific action, it could be a separate class.
3)Real-world Objects: Identify real-world objects relevant to the problem
domain. These could directly translate into classes. For example, in a library
system, you might have classes such as Book, Library, Librarian, etc.
4)Abstraction: Look for opportunities to abstract common properties and
behaviors into classes. If you notice multiple objects with similar attributes
or behaviors, it might be a candidate for a class.
5)Association Analysis: Consider the relationships between objects. If
objects interact or have associations with each other, they might belong to
the same class or different classes connected through associations.
6.Attributes and Methods: Identify the attributes (properties) and
methods (behaviors) that objects need to have or perform. Each attribute
and method might correspond to a class or influence the design of
existing classes.
7.Use Cases: Consider the different actions or use cases within the
system. Each use case might involve one or more classes. Analyzing the
actions required by the system can help identify potential classes.
8.Reuse and Modularity: Look for opportunities to reuse existing
classes or break down complex functionalities into smaller, more
manageable classes. This promotes modularity and helps in creating a
more maintainable design.
9.Domain Experts: Collaborate with domain experts or stakeholders
who have a deep understanding of the problem domain. Their insights
can help identify relevant classes and ensure the class diagram
accurately represents the domain.
10.Iterative Refinement: Remember that class identification is an
iterative process. Start with a rough draft of classes based on initial
analysis, then refine and adjust as you gain a deeper understanding of
the system requirements.
Online Shopping
UML Class Diagram Example
Online Shopping Scenario
• Here we provide an example of UML class diagram which shows a
domain model for online shopping. The purpose of the diagram is to
introduce some common terms, "dictionary" for online shopping -
Customer, Web User, Account, Shopping Cart, Product, Order,
Payment, etc. and relationships between. It could be used as a
common ground between business analysts and software
developers.
• Each customer has unique id and is linked to exactly one account.
Account owns shopping cart and orders. Customer could register as
a web user to be able to buy items online. Customer is not required
to be a web user because purchases could also be made by phone
or by ordering from catalogues. Web user has login name which also
serves as unique id. Web user could be in several states - new,
active, temporary blocked, or banned, and be linked to a shopping
cart. Shopping cart belongs to account.
Online Shopping Scenario
(contd.)
• Account owns customer orders. Customer may have no
orders. Customer orders are sorted and unique. Each order
could refer to several payments, possibly none. Every
payment has unique id and is related to exactly one account.
• Each order has current order status. Both order and shopping
cart have line items linked to a specific product. Each line item
is related to exactly one product. A product could be
associated to many line items or no item at all.
Sequence Diagram
What is Sequence Diagram?
• Sequence Diagrams are interaction diagrams
that detail how operations are carried out.
• They capture the interaction between objects in
the context of a collaboration.
• Sequence Diagrams are time focus and they
show the order of the interaction visually by
using the vertical axis of the diagram to
represent time what messages are sent and
when.
What is Sequence Diagram?
(contd.)
• Sequence Diagrams captures:
• the interaction that takes place in a
collaboration that either realizes a use case or an
operation (instance diagrams or generic
diagrams)
• high-level interactions between user of the
system and the system, between the system and
other systems, or between subsystems
(sometimes known as system sequence
diagrams)
Purpose of Sequence
Diagram
• Model high-level interaction between active objects in a
system
• Model the interaction between object instances within a
collaboration that realizes a use case
• Model the interaction between objects within a
collaboration that realizes an operation
• Either model generic interactions (showing all possible
paths through the interaction) or specific instances of a
interaction (showing just one path through the
interaction)
Sequence Diagrams at a
Glance
• Sequence Diagrams show elements as they interact over
time and they are organized according to object
(horizontally) and time (vertically):
• Object Dimension
• The horizontal axis shows the elements that are involved in
the interaction
• Conventionally, the objects involved in the operation are
listed from left to right according to when they take part in
the message sequence. However, the elements on the
horizontal axis may appear in any order
• Time Dimension
• The vertical axis represents time proceedings (or progressing)
down the page.
Sequence Diagram Notation
Actor
•a type of role played by an entity that interacts with the
subject (e.g., by exchanging signals and data)
•external to the subject (i.e., in the sense that an instance
of an actor is not a part of the instance of its
corresponding subject).
•represent roles played by human users, external
hardware, or other subjects.
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Lifeline
•A lifeline represents an individual participant in the Interaction
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Activations
•A thin rectangle on a lifeline) represents the period during
which an element is performing an operation.
•The top and the bottom of the of the rectangle are aligned with
the initiation and the completion time respectively
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Call Message
•A message defines a particular communication between
Lifelines of an Interaction.
•Call message is a kind of message that represents an invocation
of operation of target lifeline.
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Return Message
•A message defines a particular communication between
Lifelines of an Interaction.
•Return message is a kind of message that represents the pass
of information back to the caller of a corresponded former
message.
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Self Message
•A message defines a particular communication between
Lifelines of an Interaction.
•Self message is a kind of message that represents the
invocation of message of the same lifeline.
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Recursive Message
•A message defines a particular communication between
Lifelines of an Interaction.
•Recursive message is a kind of message that represents the
invocation of message of the same lifeline. It's target points to
an activation on top of the activation where the message was
invoked from.
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
• Destroy Message
• A message defines a particular communication between
Lifelines of an Interaction.
• Destroy message is a kind of message that represents the
request of destroying the lifecycle of target lifeline
Sequence Diagram Notation
(contd.)
Sequence Fragments
•A sequence fragment is represented as a box, called
a combined fragment, which encloses a portion of the
interactions within a sequence diagram
•The fragment operator (in the top left cornet)
indicates the type of fragment
• Alt: (Alternative multiple fragments) only the one
whose condition is true will execute
• Loop: the fragment may execute multiple times,
and the guard indicates the basis of iteration
• Opt: (Optional) the fragment executes only if the
supplied condition is true. Equivalent to an alt
only with one trace.
Combined Fragment
Example
Facebook Web
User
Authentication
UML Sequence Diagram Example
Facebook Web User
Authentication Scenario
• An example of UML sequence diagram which shows
how Facebook (FB) user could be authenticated in a web application
to allow access to his/her FB resources. Facebook uses OAuth
2.0 protocol framework which enables web application (called
"client"), which is usually not the FB resource owner but is acting on
the FB user's behalf, to request access to resources controlled by
the FB user and hosted by the FB server. Instead of using the FB
user credentials to access protected resources, the web application
obtains an access token.
• Web application should be registered by Facebook to have an
application ID (client_id) and secret (client_secret). When request to
some protected Facebook resources is received, web browser ("user
agent") is redirected to Facebook's authorization server with
application ID and the URL the user should be redirected back to
after the authorization process.
Facebook Web User
Authentication Scenario
(contd.)
• User receives back Request for Permission form. If the user
authorizes the application to get his/her data, Facebook
authorization server redirects back to the URI that was
specified before together with authorization code
("verification string"). The authorization code can be
exchanged by web application for an OAuth access token.
• If web application obtains the access token for a FB user, it
can perform authorized requests on behalf of that FB user by
including the access token in the Facebook Graph API
requests. If the user did not authorize web application,
Facebook issues redirect request to the URI specified before,
and adds the error_reason parameter to notify the web
application that authorization request was denied.
Thanks