The Unified Modeling Language™ (UML™), set forth by the Object Management Group ® (OMG), is the most widely used, de facto modeling standard for visually describing the structure and behavior of software systems. Although there have been several minor releases over the years, UML 2.0 is the first major revision to the standard since its inception in 1997.
UML 2.0 vs Earlier Versions
The following aspects most clearly distinguish UML 2.0 from earlier versions:
- Increased level of precision in describing the basic modeling concepts in the language and their semantics
- Improved capability to model large-scale software systems. This includes the ability to model entire system architectures - in other words, to use UML as an architectural description language
- Enhanced modeling of complex network-based business processes and other functionally oriented applications
- Defined 38 UML compliance points for tool vendors to measure against (i.e., no compliance, partial compliance, compliant, and XMI compliant)
UML 2.0 is designed to support a number of model driven development paradigms, including Model Driven Architecture® (MDA®) as defined by the OMG. Organization adopting MDA will need to leverage UML 2.0 since UML is the key enabling technology. Every application using the MDA is based on a normative, platform-independent UML model. By leveraging the UML modeling standard, the MDA allows creation of applications that are portable and interoperate naturally across a broad spectrum of systems from embedded, to desktop, to sever, to mainframe, to Internet. Enabling today's complex enterprise architectures to integrate applications across middleware boundaries and be resilient to today's and tomorrow's vendor implementation stacks.
Other Enhancements
The recent upgrade of the standard from version 1.X to version 2.0 adds new diagram types:
- Composite Structure Diagrams
- Timing Diagrams
- Interaction Overview Diagrams
UML 2.0 also significantly enhances class diagrams, sequence diagrams, state machine diagrams, and activity diagrams. With these enhancements UML robustly supports component-based development, architectural specifications, and advanced behavioral modeling techniques essential to today's complex, distributed systems.
IconATG's course updates the experienced modeler's knowledge of UML syntax and semantics by highlighting the key UML 2.0 enhancements and prepares them for understanding MDA.
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