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Chapter 4: The Unified Modeling Language (UML)

4.1 Introduction

UML (Unified Modeling Language), which can be translated asunified modeling

languageis a notation allowing to model a problem in a standard way.

The creation of software is fundamentally a system task whose elements are

intricately interrelated. The design of software that meets the personal
aspirations of the customer necessarily requires good design (modeling)

UML fills an important gap in object technologies because it makes it possible to

express and develop object models, independently of any programming language. It

was designed to serve as a support for an analysis based on object concepts.

UML can be used forvisualize, specify, build and documentartifacts of a

software-intensive system. It is also suitable for modeling systems, from
enterprise computer systems to distributed web-based applications and real-
time embedded systems. It is a simple language to understand and use but also
and above all very expressive which covers all the perspectives necessary for the
development and then the deployment of such systems.

4.2 UML diagrams

A diagram is the graphical representation of a set of elements that make up a system. Most

of the time it is represented in the form of a connected graph where the vertices

correspond to the elements and the arcs to the relations.

A diagram gives the user a way to visualize and manipulate modeling elements. The
UML Meta model provides a range of tools for representing all the elements of the
object world (class, object, etc.) as well as the links that connect them.
However, since a single representation is too subjective, UML provides a nifty
way to represent various projections of the same representation using views. A
view is made up of one or more diagrams. UML defines nine kinds of structural
and behavioral diagrams to represent static and dynamic views respectively.

Each view is articulated around several diagrams, each of them being dedicated to the

representation of the particular concepts of a software system.

Static views

Static views represent the following structural diagrams:

- Class diagram :

The class diagram in UML is a static graphical representation used to model the
structure of a software system. It describes classes, objects, relationships and
interactions between them.
 - Object diagram:

The object diagram shows specific objects, the classes they belong to, and the
relationships and attributes associated with those objects. It is used to represent the
static structure of a system, including objects, their properties, and their relationships,
but not their dynamic behavior.

- Use case diagram

The use case diagram helps to define the functional requirements of the system by
identifying the functionalities provided by the system and the interactions between the
actors and the system. It provides a holistic and intuitive view of the system, with a
focus on user goals and actions.
 - Component diagram:
The component diagram in UML (Unified Modeling Language) is a static graphical

representation that illustrates the components of a software system, their dependencies

and their interactions. It emphasizes the internal structure of a system and how its

different parts are organized and interconnected.

 - Deployment Diagram:
The deployment diagram in UML (Unified Modeling Language) is a graphical

representation that shows the hardware and software configuration of a system, as well as

the relationships between the software components and the hardware resources on which

they are deployed. It focuses on the physical distribution of the components of a system

and their deployment on the hardware nodes.

Dynamic views

Dynamic classification is a concept that allows the type of an object to be changed

dynamically.

- Activity diagram:
The activity diagram in UML is a dynamic diagram which models the flow of
activities, actions and decisions in a process or a behavior of a system. It
emphasizes the behavioral aspect and the sequence of actions in a given
scenario.
 - Sequence diagram:
Sequence diagram in UML is a dynamic diagram that shows the interaction
between objects of a system in a given scenario. It emphasizes the sequence of
messages exchanged between objects over time to accomplish a specific function.
 - State transition diagram:
The state transition diagram in UML is a diagram that models the different
states of an object or a system, as well as the transitions between these states in
response to events. It focuses on the behavior and state changes of a system
element over time.
 - Collaboration Diagrams:
The collaboration diagram in UML is an interactive diagram that represents the interaction

between the objects of a system to achieve a specific scenario. It emphasizes the messages

exchanged between objects and the relationships between them during the execution of a

scenario.