UML的通用机制(一)



Specifications

The UML is more than just a graphical language. Rather, behind every part of its graphical notation there is a specification that provides a textual statement of the syntax and semantics of that building block. For example, behind a class icon is a specification that provides the full set of attributes, operations (including their full signatures), and behaviors that the class embodies; visually, that class icon might only show a small part of this specification. Furthermore, there might be another view of that class that presents a completely different set of parts yet is still consistent with the class’s underlying specification. You use the UML’s graphical notation to visualize a system; you use the UML’s specification to state the system;s details. Given this split, it’s possible to build up a model incrementally by drawing diagrams and then adding semantics to the model’s specifications, or directly by creating a specification, perhaps by reverse engineering an existing system, and then creating diagrams that are projections into those specifications.

The UML’s specifications provide that contains all the parts of all the models of a system, each part related to one another in a consistent fashion. The UML’s diagrams are thus simply visual projections into that backplane, each diagram revealing a specific interesting aspect of the system.

 

规格说明书

 

UML不仅仅是一个图形化的语言．恰恰相反，在每个图形符号后面都有一段描述用来说明构建模块的语法和语义．例如，类图示的后面提供这样一段有关类的说明：完整的属性集，操作(包括它们完整的特征)和类表现出的行为；为了表现得更直观点，类图示可能只显示这些描述的一小部分．而且，从另外一个视角来看这个类，可能会有完全不同的部分，但仍然与类的基本规范保持一致．UML的图形符号用来描绘一个系统，而UML的规格说明则用来描述系统的细节．鉴于这种划分，通过画图可以构建一个可增量的模型，然后为这个模型添加语义上的说明，或者通过逆向工程为现有的系统直接创建一个规格说明，再之后创建图表来映射这些规格说明．

UML的规格说明提供一个语义上的底板，包含有系统所有模板的所有部分，每个部分与其它部分以一致的方式关联．UML的图就是这样简单的映射到那个底板，每个图揭示出系统特定的需要关注的方面．