ISBN:0321245628Amazon.com
Written by the three pioneers behind the Unified Modeling Language (UML) standard, The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual provides an excellent real-world guide to working with UML. This title provides expert knowledge on all facets of today's UML standard, helping developers who are encountering UML on the job for the first time to be more productive.
The book begins with a history of UML, from structured design methods of the '60s and '70s to the competing object-oriented design standards that were unified in 1997 to create UML. For the novice, the authors illustrate key diagram types such as class, use case, state machine, activity, and implementation. (Of course, learning these basic diagram types is what UML is all about. The authors use an easy-to-understand ticket-booking system for many of their examples.)
After a tour of basic document types, The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual provides an alphabetical listing of more than 350 UML terms. Entries range from a sentence or two to several pages in length. (Class, operation, and use case are just a few of the important terms that are covered.) Though you will certainly need to be acquainted with software engineering principles, this reference will serve the working software developer well. As the authors note, this isn't UML for Dummies, but neither is it an arcane academic treatise. The authors succeed in delivering a readable reference that will answer any UML question, no matter how common or obscure. --Richard Dragan/p>
Reviews From AMAZON.COM
Essential reference for all projects
Like all dynamic languages, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is growing more complex over time. While it is true that for most developers, this means that you will regularly use a smaller percentage of the language, the actual percentage will vary from person to person and from day to day. Therefore, no abridged UML manual could possibly be adequate. Written by the three creators of the UML, this manual is clearly definitive and one that all developers should have at extended arms reach. Designed to cover the changes in the recently released UML 2.0, which were significant, a CD with the full text in Adobe PDF form with hotlinks to the definitions of the key terms is also included.
The opening chapter is an overview of the UML and most people can skip it. Chapter two is an overview of models, and this one is worth reading. Short, it introduces some of the fundamental terminology and approaches. A walkthrough of UML is done in chapter three, which introduces the various formal views of a project. They are: static, design, use case, state machine, activity, interaction, deployment, and model management. Each of these views is then explained in a short chapter. These chapters should be required reading for users of the book, as they establish much of the notational and definitional background used in the reference section.
The real value of the book is in the five hundred plus pages of detailed definitions of the key terms and phrases in the UML. Listed in alphabetical order, each entry has the following form:
*) Entry name: the term or phrase.
*) A brief definition, generally one or two sentences.
*) The semantics of the term, generally using several paragraphs. This section Includes the structure,
subordinate items and often an example.
*) The notation of usage. Options and guidelines for use are often included.
*) Discussion (occasional), where the author's opinions and/or a background explanation of the term
are given.
*) History (where appropriate), the changes in how the term is interpreted from earlier versions of the
UML.
Quite frankly, I cannot see how it would be possible for any developer to use anything more than a very tiny subset of the UML if they do not have access to this book. All speakers of a language can use that language in informal communication, but when we want to communicate ideas formally and precisely, a dictionary is essential. That is the role that this book will fill, as no human communication is more precise than when we do it with notations that describe software.
Published in the online Journal of Object Technology, reprinted with permission.
Well written and organized
This isn't something that I would sit down and read just for fun, but it is well written and organized, which makes it easy to use. The bulk of the book is in the dictionary of terms which is organized alphabetically. Each one is described using both a text definition and a notational graphic, and often an example. There is a section on the different types of views at the front of the book.