UML Modelling?

Trygve Reenskaug trygver at ifi.uio.no
Thu Feb 14 11:33:34 UTC 2008


On 14.02.2008 02:42, David Zmick wrote:
> How do you make a UML model for smalltalk code?
>
> -- 
> David Zmick 
UML is a modeling language and doesn't care about code. So you can model 
Smalltalk or Java programs or whatever. UML has static typing, and a 
large part of it collapses if you ignore type.

UML is a large language designed to cater for a multitude of 
requirements. The intention is that you select the parts you need and 
disregard the rest (which will be the larger part). The key for you is 
to decide why you want to model your program. This boils boils down to 
deciding why you are not satisfied by just writing and reading the code.

IMO Smalltalk (like Java) lacks facilities for describing systems and 
particularly system behavior. UML 2.x has very powerful facilities for 
such modeling and could prove useful both for design and for documentation.

There are many UML tools. I have only tried one or two and found them 
extremely heavy to use. I have found they are generally  not worth the 
added complexity and hassle.  (I recently tried to get an understanding 
of Traits by drawing its class diagram. It did not help me at all.)

Many UML tools provide code generation. The ones I have seen were very 
incomplete even for Java. For Smalltalk, you would have to provide the 
translation algorithms yourself.

I suggest you select a few UML diagram types and use them for informal 
(back-of-envelope) design purposes. Any other use would be contrary to 
the spirit of Smalltalk.

Cheers
--Trygve
-- 

Trygve Reenskaug       mailto: trygver at ifi.uio.no

Morgedalsvn. 5A         http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~trygver

N-0378 Oslo               Tel: (+47) 22 49 57 27

Norway

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