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Object and Class Diagrams

Object and Class Diagrams. CSE301 University of Sunderland. Purpose. Describes the static structure of a system, not how it behaves. The objects/classes you choose to show should be the important ones — those in the use case and behavioural diagrams (later).

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Object and Class Diagrams

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  1. Object and Class Diagrams CSE301 University of Sunderland

  2. Purpose • Describes the static structure of a system, not how it behaves. • The objects/classes you choose to show should be the important ones—those in the use case and behavioural diagrams (later). • Class diagrams show the long-term structure. • Use separate diagrams for associations and inheritance. • Object diagrams then show the structure at a specific time. Should show only links, not inheritance. • May be high- or low-level.

  3. Class Diagram Notation Simple. Made up of: • Classes (or subsystems) • Associations

  4. Technique for Construction • Identify the classes (Object diagrams can be used to explore class relationships. Eventually you replace the whole mess with a class diagram.) • Identify the associations • Refine and elaborate. • Keep it simple (silly!)

  5. Sample Class Diagram Association Class (optional) Skill * Class Resource-Skill * Association Resource Inheritance Professional Hourly (Note that this should be two diagrams, not one.)

  6. Class • Abstract classes have a name in italics. • May have interfaces • May be active (Runnable/Thread) or passive ClassName (reqd) Attributes (opt) Operations (opt) Other Elements (opt)

  7. Attributes and Operations • Public (+), protected (#), and private (-) are usually all you need to indicate. • Default values for attributes can be specified (=value) • Return types (: type) and arguments (args) can be specified for operations. • Underline to indicate class or static scope.

  8. Association • May relate two or more classes. • Paths lie between class symbols • May be a class in its own right, with attributes and operations • May be recursive from the class back to itself. • May have role names. • May have multiplicity. (Collections are usually required to implement multiplicity.)

  9. Object Diagram Notation • Objects (instances of classes) • Links (instances of associations) • In other words, an object diagram instantiates a class diagram. • You don’t show inheritance in object diagrams.

  10. Sample Object Diagram Programming:Skill Object Link Programmer:Resource EntryLevel:Professional Maintainer:Hourly

  11. Object • Unique and has identity. • May be active or passive. InstanceName:Class Attribute values

  12. Link • Is an instance of an association. • Shown as paths between objects • Can be objects in their own right.

  13. Some Added Class Stereotypes • Boundary (input and output) • Entity (business object) • Control (applications model) • You can use these instead of: or inside the box:

  14. Using Class Diagrams • Issues: • The layout of a GUI does not usually match the structure of the applications model or business objects. It can, but it need not. (It is a good idea for the GUI to be designed by a GUI specialist.) • The rules (business logic) in an applications model are often arcane and volatile. Hence the applications model should not be tightly coupled with the GUI or business objects. • Business objects (external interfaces and database tables) tend to be very rigid and should be separate from the GUI and business logic.

  15. A Posting on comp.object Hi It seems generally accepted in Java that Swing GUI builders are not the best way of constructing your GUI, IOW hand-coding seems to be the best practice. Two reasons for this seem to be 1. the type of code that is automatically generated from a GUI builder is not so nice; and 2. using a GUI builder can encourage the developer to write business logic code into the GUI. Now I just wondered if this is the general case for most OO languages or do other languages provide better GUI building facilities? Regards Shane

  16. A Response (edit’d) It is not the case for all GUI builders but it is common. The Borland Delphi/Kylix IDE is a case in point. While it is perfectly possible to separate out business logic the newbie Delphi programmer almost invariably puts it in with the GUI - because the tool encourages that style. VB is the same and so are the various Visual C GUI tools. (Note: this is not a rant against Delphi - I've been using it for most of my Windows GUI work since Version 2) Many open-source tools are based on the same ideas as Delphi etc (GLade being an example) and thus lead to similar problems. …<cut> My experiences, FWIW, Alan G.

  17. Bob Martin’s Comments (edit’d) >Hi >It seems generally accepted in Java that Swing GUI builders are not the best >way of constructing your GUI, IOW handcoding seems to be the best practice. I hold out high hopes for the new IntelliJ 4.0 GUI builder. I haven't tried it yet, but from what I've heard it's intriguing. If it's as good as the rest of IntelliJ, then it'll be pretty good. >Two reasons for this seem to be 1. the type of code that is automatically >generated from a GUI builder is not so nice; and 2. using a GUI builder can >encourage the developer to write business logic code into the GUI. Most GUI builders I have worked with leave the programmer hanging. They provide a lot of assistance for simple GUIs, but less and less as the GUI's get more interesting. There comes a point where the builder ceases to be useful, and the poor programmer is left with a mass of opaque generated code, and without the practice to manipulate it properly.

  18. Think About This for a Minute • Take a piece of paper and write down what this seems to be telling you…

  19. So How Do You Use Class Diagrams Professionally? • Make sure you model your GUI, applications model, database tables, and external interfaces separately. • It is OK to use a GUI-builder, but you must separate your GUI from your applications model. • Learn how to handle events and how to set up the Observer/Observable pattern.

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