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Style (n):
A particular manner or technique by which something is done, created, or
performed.
- Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition.
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Many resources - books, magazine articles, and web sites - focus on how to
work with the artifacts of the
Unified Modeling Language (UML) as well as other
modeling techniques. These resources introduce you to various modeling artifacts, describe a
methodology for applying the artifacts in practice, or describe how to apply
patterns and strategies for creating better models. Unfortunately few of
these resources touch on the subject of style and when they do they rarely
devote little space to it. This includes my own book,
The
Object Primer 3/e, which provides an excellent overview of UML artifacts (as
well as a few others because the UML
isn't sufficient for real-world development) and how to take them all the
way to Java code and a relational database on the back end.
The focus of these pages is style. That's it. It presents
guidelines to improve the quality and readability of your software diagrams, making
them easier to understand and to work with. Included are guidelines for
applying various modeling notations effectively, such as when to apply aggregation between two
classes instead of association, but excluded are design patterns such as Strategy
or Facade. Note that the primary focus of this site, at least at
first, will be the UML, the industry standard for modeling systems using
object-oriented and component-based systems. Data modelers may find www.agiledata.org
to be of interest.
Topics:
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The Elements of UML 2.0 Style describes a collection
of standards, conventions, and
guidelines
for creating effective
UML diagrams. They are based on sound, proven
software engineering principles that lead to diagrams
that are easier to understand and work with. These
conventions exist as a collection of simple, concise
guidelines that if applied consistently, represent an
important first step in increasing your productivity as
a modeler. This book is oriented towards
intermediate to advanced UML modelers, although there
are numerous examples throughout the book it would not
be a good way to learn the UML (instead, consider
The Object Primer). The book is a brief 188
pages long and is conveniently pocket-sized so it's easy
to carry around. |
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The Object Primer 3rd Edition: Agile Model Driven
Development with UML 2 is an
important reference book for agile modelers,
describing how to develop 35
types of agile
models including all 13
UML 2 diagrams.
Furthermore, this book describes the techniques
of the
Full Lifecycle Object Oriented Testing
(FLOOT) methodology to give you the fundamental
testing skills which you require to succeed at
agile software development. The book also
shows how to move from your agile models to
source code (Java examples are provided) as well
as how to succeed at implementation techniques
such as
refactoring and
test-driven development
(TDD). The Object Primer also includes a
chapter overviewing the critical database
development techniques (database refactoring,
object/relational mapping,
legacy analysis, and
database access coding) from my award-winning
Agile Database Techniques
book. |
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Agile Modeling: Effective Practices for Extreme
Programming and the Unified Process is the seminal
book describing how agile software developers approach
modeling and
documentation. It describes principles and
practices which you can tailor into your existing
software process, such as
XP, the
Rational Unified Process (RUP), or the
Agile Unified Process (AUP), to streamline your
modeling and documentation efforts. Modeling and
documentation are important aspects of any software
project, including agile projects, and this book
describes in detail how to
elicit requirements,
architect, and then
design your system in an agile manner. |
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I actively work with clients around the world to
improve their information technology (IT) practices as
both a mentor/coach and trainer. A full description of
what I do, and how to contact me, can be
found here.
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