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Software Engineering Research, Management and Applications pp 33–53Cite as

Exploring a Model-Oriented and Executable Syntax for UML Attributes

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Part of the Studies in Computational Intelligence book series (SCI,volume 496)

Abstract

Implementing UML attributes directly in an object-oriented language may not appear to be complex, since such languages already support member variables. The distinction arises when considering the differences between modelling a class and implementing it. In addition to representing attributes, member variables can also represent association ends and internal data including counters, caching, or sharing of local data. Attributes in models also support additional characteristics such as being unique, immutable, or subject to lazy instantiation. In this paper we present modeling characteristics of attributes from first principles and investigate how attributes are handled in several open-source systems. We look code-generation of attributes by various UML tools. Finally, we present our own Umple language along with its code generation patterns for attributes, using Java as the target language.

Keywords

  • Attributes
  • UML
  • Model Driven Design
  • Code Generation
  • Umple
  • Model-Oriented Programming Language

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, K1N 6N5

    Omar Badreddin, Andrew Forward & Timothy C. Lethbridge

Authors
  1. Omar Badreddin
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  2. Andrew Forward
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  3. Timothy C. Lethbridge
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Software Engineering & Information, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, 48859, Michigan, USA

    Roger Lee

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Badreddin, O., Forward, A., Lethbridge, T.C. (2014). Exploring a Model-Oriented and Executable Syntax for UML Attributes. In: Lee, R. (eds) Software Engineering Research, Management and Applications. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 496. Springer, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00948-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00948-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00947-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00948-3

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