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A Formal Semantics for UML Interactions

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«UML»’99 — The Unified Modeling Language (UML 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1723))

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Abstract

The UML abstract syntax and semantics specification distinguishes between the statics and the dynamics of collaborations: the rôle context and interactions. We propose a formal semantics of interactions based on the abstract syntax and directly reflecting the specification. The semantics is both parametric in the notion of context and in semantic details that are intentionally left open by the specification, but resolves true inconsistencies. The formalisation uses temporal logic formulae in the style of Manna and Pnueli. We illustrate the flexibility of our semantics by discussing instantiations for a running example; its intuitiveness is substantiated by proving that the temporal formulae give rise to partial orders that also directly can be inferred from interactions.

This work was carried out during a stay at the Computer Science Laboratory of SRI International as part of the Visitor Exchange Program P-1-3334. It was supported by a DAAD scholarship and partially by the Bayerische Forschungsstiftung.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München

    Alexander Knapp

Authors
  1. Alexander Knapp
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1873, USA

    Robert France

  2. Institut für Informatik, Technische Universität München, D-80290, München, Germany

    Bernhard Rumpe

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Knapp, A. (1999). A Formal Semantics for UML Interactions. In: France, R., Rumpe, B. (eds) «UML»’99 — The Unified Modeling Language. UML 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1723. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46852-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46852-8_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66712-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46852-3

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