SE450: UML [9/18]

The Unified Modeling Language is the successor to a number of Object-Oriented analysis and design (OOA&D) languages

The UML is a language, not a development methodology (we'll talk about methodologies later). It is a language for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting.

OO Modeling languages started to appear in the late '70s and early '80s, with more than 50 approaches in the early '90s

Mostly a combination of the work of Booch, Rumbaugh, and Jacobson (the three amigos)

• Booch, Jacobson - Object Oriented Software Engineering (OOSE)
• Rumbaugh - Object Modeling Technique (OMT)
• Fusion, Shlaer-Mellor, Coad-Yourdon, etc

Three goals stated for the UML

1. To model systems, from concept to executable artifact, using OO techniques
2. To address the issue of scale inherent in compolex, mission-critical systems
3. To create a modeling language usable by both humans and machines

By the later '90s, most notable software tool vendords had adopted the UML as their OO modeling language

UML maintenance (of the specification) is now under the control of the Object Management Group (OMG)