UML: Too Big, Too Small, Just Right?
Experts weigh in on what's ahead for the Unified Modeling Language
By SD Times News Team
August 15, 2004 —
(Page 1 of 3)
UML 2.0 is too fat. Modeling experts don't necessarily agree with the remark made by one of UML's own backers. But coupled with Microsoft Corp.'s recent plan to provide modeling tools, the provocative comment has sparked a discussion that's likely to benefit all parties involved: What is the best way to move the Unified Modeling Language forward, increasing its use among corporate development teams?
"The language has become obese," said Cris Kobryn, co-chair of the Analysis & Design Platform Task Force for Object Management Group Inc., the nonprofit industry consortium that oversees the UML specification. UML 2.0 includes 15 diagrams, but only six of them-Class, Sequence, Use Case, Activity, State Machine and Composite Structure-do the heavy lifting, said Kobryn, CEO of PivotPoint Technology Corp., a UML consulting firm, in Fallbrook, Calif. "We should have cut the fat."
"I can't say I agree with that," countered Bran Selic, a distinguished engineer at IBM Corp. and co-chair of OMG's Finalization Task Force for UML 2.0 Infrastructure. "The technology has evolved to meet a problem set. And the problems are becoming more and more complex." You can't solve them by simplifying things, he said. Selic claimed that UML 2.0 does address the size issue. "We were very aware of this problem in assembling UML 2.0. We took it apart and put it back together so it is modular." The specification includes sublanguages, including event-driven modeling and activity modeling, which are mutually independent, allowing UML users to work with a single sublanguage if they choose to, he said.
But according to Kobryn, using UML 2.0 tools for real-world development projects often results in confusion. "If you look over the diagram types, you will get d?j? vu attacks." For instance, the Component diagram and Composite Structure diagram are 90 percent similar, he said. "From a design standpoint, why include two diagrams that do the same thing? You should whack one of them."
Also, the sublanguages for Activity and Sequence are largely equivalent. Further complicating matters is a hybrid of the two, called Interaction Overview, he said. "The language is just too large, and a lot of people find that out by trial and error."
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