UML Diagram Cheat Sheet and Reference Guide
By : Amelia Parker Updated September 26, 2024
Things in UML
A thing can be described as any real-world entity or an object. Things are divided
into various categories in UML as follows,
Structural things
Behavioral things
Grouping things
Annotational things
Table of Content:
Structural things
Structural things are all about the physical part of a system. It is the noun of a
UML model, such as a class, object, interface, collaboration, use case,
component, and a node.
Class :- A class is used to represent
various objects. It is used to define the
properties and operations of an object.
Object :- An object is an entity which is
used to describe the behavior and
functions of a system. The class and
object have the same notations.
Example of Object Diagram :-The below
UML object diagram contains two
objects named Ferrari and BMW which
belong to a class named as a Car. The
objects are nothing but real-world
entities that are the instances of a class.
Interface :- An interface is similar to a
template without implementation
details. A circle notation represents it.
When a class implements an interface,
its functionality is also implemented.
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Behavioral things
They are the verbs of a UML model, such as interactions, activities and state
machines. Behavioral things are used to represent the behavior of a system.
Interaction diagram :- Interaction
diagrams are used to visualize the
message flow between various
components of a system.
Grouping things
It is the package which is used to group
semantically related modeling elements
into a single cohesive unit.
Annotational things
It is like a note, which may be written to
the model to capture some vital
information. It is similar to the yellow
sticky note.
Relationships type in UML
The relationship allows you to show on a model how two or more things relate to
each other.
Association relationship :- It is a set of
links that connect elements of the UML
model.It is denoted as a dotted line with
arrowheads on both sides. Both the
sides contain an element which
describes the relationship.
Reflexive association :- Reflexive
association states that a link or a
connection can be present within the
objects of the same class.
Directed association :- Directed
association, the flow is directed. The
association from one class to another
class flows in a single direction only.
Dependency relationship :- It is one of
the most important notations of UML. It
defines the direction of a dependency
from one object to another.
Generalization relationship :- It is also
called as a parent-child relationship.This
type of relationship is used to represent
the inheritance concept.
Realization relationship :- Realization
relationship is widely used while
denoting interfaces.
Realization can be represented in two
ways:
Using a canonical form
Using an elided form
Composition :- Composite aggregation
is described as a binary association
decorated with a filled black diamond at
the aggregate (whole) end.It is not a
standard UML relationship, but it is still
used in various applications.
Aggregation :- aggregation relationship,
the dependent object remains in the
scope of a relationship even when the
source object is destroyed. An
aggregation is a subtype of an
association relationship in UML.
RELATED ARTICLES
→ UML Diagrams: History, Types, Characteristics, Versions, Tools
→ UML Tutorial – Learn Unified Modelling Language Diagram
Abstract Classes
It is a class with an operation prototype,
but not the implementation. In UML The
only difference between a class and an
abstract class is that the class name is
strictly written in an italic font.
Lets see a complete UML class diagram example :-
ATMs system is very simple as customers need to press some buttons to receive
cash. However, there are multiple security layers that any ATM system needs to
pass. This helps to prevent fraud and provide cash or need details to banking
customers.
UML Use Case Diagram
Use Case Diagram captures the system’s functionality and requirements by using
actors and use cases. Use Cases model the services, tasks, function that a system
needs to perform.
Use-case :- Use-cases are one of the
core concepts of object-oriented
modeling. They are used to represent
high-level functionalities and how the
user will handle the system.
Actor :- The actor is an entity that
interacts with the system. A user is the
best example of an actor.
Example of Usecase diagram
In the below use case diagram, there are two actors named student and a
teacher. There are a total of five use cases that represent the specific
functionality of a student management system. Each actor interacts with a
particular use case.
UML State Machine Diagram
State machine:- It used to describe
various states of a single component
throughout the software development
life cycle.
Their are 4 type of state in state
machine :-
1. Initial state :-The initial state
symbol is used to indicate the
beginning of a state machine
diagram.
2. Final state :- This symbol is used to
indicate the end of a state machine
diagram.
3. Decision box :- It contains a
condition. Depending upon the
result of an evaluated guard
condition, a new path is taken for
program execution.
4. Transition :- A transition is a
change in one state into another
state which is occurred because of
some event.
Example of State Machine Diagrams :-
There are a total of two states, and the
first state indicates that the OTP has to
be entered first. After that, OTP is
checked in the decision box, if it is
correct, then only state transition will
occur, and the user will be validated. If
OTP is incorrect, then the transition will
not take place, and it will again go back
to the beginning state until the user
enters the correct OTP.
UML Activity Diagram
Activity diagram :- activity diagram is
used to represent various activities
carried out by different components of a
system.
Initial states: The starting stage
before an activity takes place is
depicted as the initial state
Final states: The state which the
system reaches when a specific
process ends is known as a Final
State
Decision box: It is a diamond shape
box which represents a decision
with alternate paths. It represents
the flow of control.
Example of Activity Diagram :-Following
diagram represents activity for
processing e-mails.
Sequence Diagram
The purpose of a sequence diagram in UML is to visualize the sequence of a
message flow in the system.A sequence diagram is used to capture the behavior
of any scenario.
Collaboration diagram
Collaboration :- It is represented by a
dotted ellipse with a name written
inside it
Example of Collaboration diagram :-
Timing diagram
A timing diagram specifies how the object changes its state by using a waveform
or a graph. It is used to denote the transformation of an object from one form
into another form.
Example of Timing diagram :-
UML Component Diagram
Component :- A component notation is
used to represent a part of the system.
Node :- A node can be used to represent
a network, server, routers, etc. Its
notation is given below.
Structure of a component :-
A component is represented with
classifier rectangle stereotypes as<<
component >>.
Port :- A port is an interaction point
between a classifier and an external
environment. It groups semantically
cohesive set of provided and required
interfaces.
Example of Component diagram :-
Deployment Diagram
Deployment diagram :- A deployment diagram represents the physical view of a
system.
A deployment diagram consists of the following notations:
1. A node
2. A component
3. An artifact
4. An interface
Example of a deployment diagram :- Following deployment diagram represents
the working of HTML5 video player in the browser.
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