UML 2.0 In a Nutshell

Have you ever wondered about a difference in line endings on a class diagram? Puzzled over the folded corner of a rectangle? Been baffled by an interaction diagram? The Universal Modeling Language (UML) is a rich and expressive language bringing the power of visual expression to software development. Yet all UML's richness and expressiveness are for naught if you don't understand its symbols and how to use its different diagram types. Communication can't take place unless all parties involved share an understanding of the language.

Historians puzzled over hieroglyphics for centuries before the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 put them on the path to understanding. You don't have to wait so long! In UML 2.0 In a Nutshell, authors Dan Pilone and Neil Pitman clearly lay out the syntax and semantics of UML. Taking care to cover UML 2.0, the very latest version of the language, the authors provide you with:

• Chapters covering each of the major diagram types, including class diagrams, use case diagrams, composite structures, interaction diagrams, and many more
• Detailed explanations of the different symbols, notations, and line types used with each diagram
• The types of information each diagram can best communicate
• Explanations for using tagged values, stereotypes, and UML profiles to customize UML for a specific application domain
• A tutorial on the Object Constraint Language (OCL)
• Advice on effective diagramming practices that will sharpen your communication skills with the language

Intended primarily as a reference but written to accommodate those learning the language, this book will you in good stead when you use UML in your own software development projects. Let this book serve as your Rosetta stone to UML.

1. Fundamentals of UML
• Getting Started
• Background
• UML Basics
• UML Specifications
• Putting UML to Work
• Modeling
• UML Rules of Thumb
2. Class Diagrams
• Classes
• Attributes
• Operations
• Methods
• Abstract Classes
• Relationships
• Interfaces
• Templates
• Variations on Class Diagrams
3. Package Diagrams
• Representation
• Visibility
• Importing and Accessing Packages
• Merging Packages
• Variations on Package Diagrams
4. Composite Structures
• Composite Structures
• Collaborations
• Collaboration Occurrences
5. Component Diagrams
• Components
• Component Views
6. Deployment Diagrams
• Artifacts
• Nodes
• Deployment
• Variations on Deployment Diagrams
7. Use Case Diagrams
• Use Cases
• Actors
• Advanced Use Case Modeling
• Use Case Scope
8. Statechart Diagrams
• Behavioral State Machines
• States
• State Machine Extension
• Protocol State Machines
• Pseudostates
• Event Processing
• Variations on Statechart Diagrams
9. Activity Diagrams
• Activities and Actions
• Tokens
• Activity Nodes
• Advanced Activity Modeling
10. Interaction Diagram
• What Are Interactions?
• Interaction Participants
• Messages
• Execution Occurrences
• State Invariants
• Event Occurrences
• Traces
• Combined Fragments
• Interaction Occurrences
• Decomposition
• Continuations
• Sequence Timing
• Alternate Interaction Notations
11. Tagged Values, Stereotypes, and UML Profiles
• Modeling and UML in Context
• Stereotypes
• Tagged Values
• Constraints
• UML Profiles
• Tools and How They Use Profiles
12. Effective Diagramming
• Wallpaper Diagrams
• Sprawling Scope
• One Diagram/One Abstraction
• Besides UML

• A. MDA: Model-Driven Architecture
• B. The Object Constraint Language

Great reference, not so great cookbook

A very good reference on UML v2 (and includes some references to v1.4 as well). Explains the subjects very well, and as in (nearly) all O'Reilly's Desktop Quick References, it can be used to quickly jump to a relevant part and read something about the subject.

But, it is definitely not a beginners book, nor a cookbook on how to use UML! It does a decent job of explaining UML in the first two chapters, but to get the most out of this book, you need to understand the concepts behind UML (like modelling, views, etc.) and why/how you may use them to your advantage.

Overall, a decent book.