CONCEPTUAL DESIGN:
UML CLASS DIAGRAM
RELATIONSHIPS
A Simplified Object-Oriented
Systems Analysis & Conceptual Design Methodology
Activities
1. Identify the information system’s purpose
2. Identify the information system’s actors and features
3. Identify Use Cases and create a Use Case Diagram
4. Identify Objects and their Classes and create a Class Diagram
5. Create Interaction/Scenario Diagrams
6. Create Detail Logic for Operations
7. Repeat activities 1-6 as required to refine the “blueprints”
Objects
• Objects have three responsibilities:
What they know about themselves – (e.g., Attributes)
What they do – (e.g., Operations)
What they know about other objects – (e.g., Relationships)
Defining Class
A CLASS is a template (specification, blueprint)
for a collection of objects that share a common
set of attributes and operations.
HealthClubMember
Class attributes
operations
Objects
• Relationships
A RELATIONSHIP is what a class or an object
knows about another class or object.
Generalization (Class-to-Class) (Superclass/Subclass)
• Inheritance
• Ex: Person - FacultyPerson, StudentPerson, Staff...
• Ex: ModesOfTravel - Airplane, Train, Auto, Cycle, Boat...
[Object] Associations
• FacultyInformation - CourseInformation
• StudentInformation - CourseInformation
[Object] Aggregations & Composition (Whole-Part)
• Assembly - Parts
• Group - Members
• Container - Contents
• Relationships
Exist to:
1) show relationships 2) enforce integrity 3) help produce results
In this example:
• Removal of a University
Course should also
UniversityCourse remove Students that are
in the Course but not
Student Information.
StudentInformation 1 • Removal of a Student
should also remove the
Courses that the Student
0,m is in but not the University
1 StudentInCourse Course.
• Removal of a Student in
0,m
a Course should not affect
either University Course or
Student Information.
UML Class Diagram Notation 1 of 2
Class
Member
memberNumber
Expanded view of a
firstName
lastName Class into its three
attributes telephone
address sections:
city Top: Class Name
etc...
Middle: attributes
checkOutVideo
operations
{ checkInVideo
buyItem
etc...
Bottom: operations
UML Class Diagram Notation 2 of 2
Class
Generalization
Relationship
Object Object
Aggregation Composition
Object Association Association Association
n n 1..* 1
0..* 0..*
Will always be “1”
Class Diagram Relationships
Class
• Generalization
Object
• Association
• Aggregation
• Composition
Generalization (Class-to-Class) (superclass – subclass; supertype – subtype)
A Generalization follows a “is a” or “is a kind of” heuristic from a
specialization class to the generalization class. (e.g., student “is a”
person, video “is a kind of” inventory).
Common attributes, operations and relationships are located in the
generalization class and are inherited by the specialization classes
Unique attributes, operations and relationships are located in the
specialization classes.
Inherited attributes and operations may be overridden or enhanced in
the specialization class depending on programming language
support.
Inherited operations in the specialization classes may be
polymorphic.
Only use when objects do NOT “transmute” (add, copy, delete)
Multiple inheritance is allowed in the UML but can complicate the
class model’s understanding and implementation (e.g., C++ supports
but Java and Smalltalk do not).
Generalization Example
Others:
<<abstract>> •Transactions
Role •Things
attributes • Places
operations • Etc...
Faculty Student Staff Visitor
attributes attributes attributes attributes
operations operations operations operations
Note: <<abstract>> = no objects
Poor Generalization Example
(violates the “is a” or “is a kind of” heuristic)
Person
attributes
operations
Arm Leg Head
attributes attributes attributes
operations operations operations
Generalization Inheritance Generalization
a1
a2
Generalization
a3
a1 o1
a2 o2
One-Way
Common a3 o3
o1 Inheritance
o2 from the
o3 Specialization
Generalization
a1
to the
a2
Specialization a3
Specialization a4
a4 a5
a5 a6
a6 o1
Unique o4 o2
o5 o3
o6 o4
o5
(a = attribute; o = operation) o6
Generalization - Multiple Inheritance
Generalization1 Generalization2
a1 a2
a2 a4
a3 a5
o3 o1
o4 o2
o5 o3
Specialization
a6
a7 a1
a8 a2 (which one?)
inherited attributes a3
o6 a4
o1 o7 a5
o2 o8
(which one?) o3 inherited operations
o4
o5
UML Generalization Notation
Note
Useful text
Supertype
discriminator
Subtype 1 Subtype 2
Note: Supertype = Superclass; Subtype = Subclass
Generalization - Multiple Classification
Discriminator
Doctor
Female
role
<<abstract>>
Nurse
Person
Gender
Male {complete} patient
Physical-
#1 therapist
Patient
#3
#2
Rational Rose Class Diagram Example
Associations
Relationships between instances (objects)
of classes
Conceptual:
• associations can have two roles (bi-directional):
– source --> target
– target --> source
• roles have multiplicity (e.g., cardinality,
constraints)
• To restrict navigation to one direction only, an
arrowhead is used to indicate the navigation
direction
No inheritance as in generalizations
Object Association Relationship Patterns
b) Object Whole
attributes
Aggregation operations
Associations
Class A x x
attributes x
operations
x x x x
Part1 Part2 PartN
x attributes
attributes attributes
Class B operations operations operations
attributes
operations
c) Object Whole
attributes
Composition operations
Class A x Class B
attributes attributes
Associations
x (y may not be “1”) 1 1
operations operations 1
y y y
a) Object Associations
Part1 Part2 PartN
attributes attributes attributes
operations operations operations
Associations
role B
Class A Class B
role A
Example:
Employee
Company Person
Employer
Multiplicities
1
Class exactly one
0..* many
Class (zero or more)
0..1 optional
Class
(zero or one)
m..n numerically
Class specified
Example:
0..*
Course CourseOffering
1
Aggregation & Composition
• Aggregation (shared aggregation):
• is a specialized form of ASSOCIATION in which
a whole is related to its part(s).
• is known as a “part of” or containment
relationship and follows the “has a” heuristic
• three ways to think about aggregations:
• whole-parts
• container-contents
• group-members
• Composition (composite aggregation):
• is a stronger version of AGGREGATION
• the “part(s)” may belong to only ONE whole
• the part(s) are usually expected to “live” and
“die” with the whole (“cascading delete”)
• Aggregation vs. Composition vs. Association???
Aggregation Composition
Faculty SalesOrder
(team-teaching 1..* 1
is possible)
0..* 1..*
CourseTeaching SalesOrderLineItem
(another: assembly --> part) (another: hand --> finger)
Composition
Composition is often used in place of
Generalization (inheritance) to avoid “transmuting”
(adding, copying, and deleting of objects)
Person
{abstract} 1
Person FacultyRole
0..1
1
Faculty Student 0..1
StudentRole
FacultyStudent
Note: Attributes may need to be considered to more-fully understand
Association, Aggregation and Composition
Template/Pattern Example
w
Whole 1 w
Whole 2 w
w
3
4
0..*
p
p 6
0..* p 5
p 4
p
Part p 3
Part 2
1
(association, aggregation &
composition look the same)
Multiplicity Example #1
Whole
3
1
5 2
Part1 PartN
•One Whole is associated with 5 Part1 •One Whole is associated with 2 PartN
•One Part1 is associated with 1 Whole •One PartN is associated with 3 Whole
P
P W
P
W P P P W
P W
P
W W
P
Multiplicity Example #2
Class1
max. 1 2..5
min.
1..n
0..*
Class2 Class3
1..n * C3 2..5 C1
C2 1 C1
C3
C1
C2 C3 C1
C2 C1 C3
C1 C2 C1
C2 C3
C1
C3
C2
etc... etc...
Multiplicity Example #3
FacultyInformation StudentInformation
1 0..* 1 1 1
1..* 0..*
0..*
DegreeHeld CommitteeAssign
CourseCompleted
0..* 0..*
CourseTeach ClubMember
“many-to-many” multiplicity
StudentInformation 0..* CourseInformation
attributes attributes
operations 0..* operations
Becomes either
StudentInformation CourseInformation StudentInformation CourseInformation
0..*
attributes attributes attributes attributes
0..*
operations operations operations operations
1 1
0..* 0..*
StudentCourseInformation Attributes that StudentCourseInformation
represent the SemesterTaken
SemesterTaken
GradeEarned “union” of the GradeEarned
two classes are operations
operations
located in this
“association”
class.
Reflexive Association Relationships
Objects within the same class have a
relationship with each other.
Course
0..*
0..*
has pre-requisite of
Video Store – UML Class Diagram
1 1
Inventory
SaleItem RentalItem
Video Game ConcessionItem VCR
0..* 0..*
Transaction Employee StoreLocation
1 1
SaleTransaction RentalTransaction Suplier
1 0..* 0..* 1 1
0..1 1 0..*
Member PurchaseOrder
1..* 1..* 1
SaleRentalLineItem 1..*
0..* 0..*
PurchaseOrderLineItem
Now, apply the concepts in Java
