Introducing Objecteering UML Modeler

Welcome!

Congratulations on choosing Objecteering UML Modeler, the UML MDA tool for model driven development!

Objecteering UML Modeler is the central tool in the Objecteering range, and provides full UML model coverage. Using Objecteering, you can:

· create and edit models in the model explorer and UML diagrams

· generate all your project documentation

· generate all the code for your application (Java, C++, C#, …)

· check the quality and accuracy of your modeling through Objecteering consistency checks and metrics

Objecteering windows

Objecteering includes the following windows:

· the main window: The main window consists of the project view plus the toolbar and the menu bar. The main window centralizes the services provided by Objecteering.

· the work view window: The work view can contain diagrams and sub-explorers.

· the explorer: The explorer lets you browse a model both hierarchically and in detail.

· the fast link editor: The fast link editor is mid-way between a graphic editor and an explorer, and provides a simplified means of browsing, visualizing and editing links.

· the auxiliary window: The auxiliary window contains the "Auxiliary properties" tab, containing terminal element creation icons, and a tab associated with each deployed MDAC, providing associated functions.

· the output window: The output window provides a trace of operations carried out, as well as information on consistency checks and any errors encountered.

Note: The project view is not a concrete part of the application, but rather a general term for the view when a project is open. The project view comprises the explorer, the work view, the fast link editor, the auxiliary window, the output window and the status bar.

All Objecteering windows (the main explorer, the auxiliary editor, the fast link editor, the output window and the work view window) are dockable, and can be positioned and docked wherever you wish inside the Objecteering workspace.

Every model element that you can create in Objecteering Modeler has a dedicated dialog box, described in the Objecteering Model Dialog Boxes user guide.

Objecteering diagrams

Objecteering 6.1 supports as standard nine types of UML diagram, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the fundamental concepts and ideas that model a system:

· class diagrams

· deployment diagrams

· object diagrams

· communication diagrams

· use case diagrams

· sequence diagrams

· activity diagrams

· BPMN diagrams

· state diagrams

All standard Objecteering diagram types are UML 2 compliant, with the exception of state diagrams. For more information on Objecteering diagrams, please see "Introducing Objecteering diagrams".

Objecteering also supports the following four types of diagram dedicated to the preliminary stages of a project, but only when the Objecteering Scope Manager MDA component has been deployed in a project:

· requirement diagrams

· dictionary diagrams

· goal diagrams

· business rule diagrams

For more information on these four diagrams, please see "Introducing Objecteering diagrams".

For more information on Objecteering Scope Manager, please see the Objecteering Scope User Guide.

Objecteering MDA components (MDACs)

The Objecteering product range includes several complementary MDA components (referred to as MDACs), each of which provides a set of independently packaged services and extensions for a specialized need, either business or technical.

For example, test modeling and generation and Java and C# code generation are managed through specific MDACs.

When a component is deployed, it provides menus, icons and specialized annotations, specific to the component in question. In addition, some MDACs, when deployed, automatically add a tab in the auxiliary window. These tabs are designed to make it even easier to enter elements relevant to the MDAC in question, such as specific notes and tagged values.

MDACs are deployed or removed using the appropriate commands in the "Tools" menu.

For more information on MDACs, please see "Working with MDACs".

Objecteering model components

Model components, sometimes referred to as RAM components (reusable autonomous model components), are extracts of a larger model, packaged into a single file. They can contain model elements, tagged value and note types specific to certain MDACs and external files.

Model components are used in a teamwork context, to allow different developers or development teams working on the same project to work on a reduced part of the complete project model, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the constraints that exist in any teamwork situation.

For more information on model components, please see "Working with model components".