3.2: An Overview of UML
The current version of UML is 2.5. Since version 2, point releases for updates have made UML simpler and more effective and removed outdated features and constructs.
UML is a modeling language used in requirements analysis, design, and programming. It is managed by the Object Management Group (OMG), which publishes updates to the UML as needed. Later versions of UML remove outdated diagrams, add new diagrams, update the syntax of diagrams, fix bugs, or increase the formality of the UML language to support the conversion of UML to a programming language, for example, Java. The semantics of the diagram types for products and behavior (also called "process and procedure", "static and dynamic", or "what and how") that correspond to OO object data and methods do not change.
A use case diagram documents a scenario or the flow of events and operations performed by a system or person. A component diagram documents the system hardware and software components. Study the examples in this section.
While the static diagrams (use case and component diagrams) pertain to a system, the dynamic diagrams (state, sequence, activity, and communication) pertain to key components or a single component for a state diagram. Study the examples in this section.
Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a graphical modeling language that provides the syntax for describing the major artifacts of software systems. UML supports all the phases of SDLC. It is used to build models that address all the software engineering activities and can be mapped to other process or data models used for the SDLC phases.
UML is managed as a de facto industry standard by the Object Management Group (OMG). This article reviews UML's history, definition, and main diagrams. Knowing something about the history of a software engineering topic helps us better understand the topic and its relevance for current and future use.
The lecture provides information to introduce UML as a tool for software engineers. This video includes a slide that depicts the two fundamental types of diagrams: structure and behavior. After watching the video, write a summary that addresses what UML is.
The lecture provides a discussion of the use case diagram in UML. Can you describe each component of a use case diagram? Is a use case a structure or behavior type of model representation in UML?