Support for UML 2.1

The IBM Rational UML modeling tools and extensibility API now support the UML2 metamodel based on the UML 2.1 specification by OMG.

Here are a few of the changes that you may notice when you create UML models:

UML object diagrams are now supported.
Applied stereotypes are now root elements in a model.
In state machine diagrams, triggers have been separated from events. The various concrete triggers, such as call trigger, are replaced by the corresponding event type, such as call event.
Actions in activities are replaced with opaque actions.
In associations, ownership is no longer used to imply direction.
Message ends and stop nodes in sequence diagrams have changed.

Logical models and model fragments

The contents of modeling projects are organized into three types of logical folders in the Project Explorer view: diagrams, models, and profiles. This structure displays the logical containment of the UML model elements, regardless of where they are stored physically. You can also display the names of the physical UML model files and UML profile files in the Project Explorer view by disabling the corresponding filters in the Available customizations dialog box. This structure is especially useful in situations where modeling artifacts are shared within and across teams.

You can now divide a logical model into fragments by extracting parts of the model into physical subunits. The physical location of these model elements is transparent, but the fragments remain a logical part of the original model and are only loaded when they are required.

This is a screen capture of the Project Explorer in which the contents of the model are organized into Models, Diagrams, and Profiles folders.

Navigating and managing models using the Project Explorer view

The Project Explorer view replaces the Model Explorer view as the primary means of navigating through model contents. It also replaces the Model Editor view as the means for managing the lifecycle of your models. You can open, save, and close models, diagrams, and profiles without opening the Model Editor view.

The Project Explorer view also makes it easier to review the signatures of model elements. When you select an element in the Project Explorer view, the full signature is displayed in the status bar, which means that you do not have to be in edit mode for the selected element to see the full signature.

This is a small screen capture of the Project Explorer view. Click here to open a larger image in a separate window.

Model Editor view improvements

You can open a model by starting the Model Editor view, but closing it no longer closes the model. In addition, the Model Editor view does not open when cross-referenced models or profiles are opened in the background.

Model editing capabilities are improved by the addition of new sections that enable you to open the associated diagrams and models, and add profiles, model libraries, and fragments.

This is a small screen capture of the Model Editor view. Click here to open a larger image in a separate window.

Searching models

Model search functionality has been integrated with the Eclipse search dialog box, and you can search for specific UML types, specify search string patterns by using asterisk (*) and question mark (?) syntax, and select a search scope. You can also include or exclude simple textual matches in comments, diagram descriptions, notes, constraint bodies, and other text strings in your models.

The results of your model search are displayed in the Search view and can be sorted based on different criteria. Depending on the type of the match, you can navigate to the element in the Project Explorer view, display it in a diagram, or display the element in the Properties view.

This is a screen capture of the Modeling page in the Search dialog box. Click here to open a larger image in a separate window.

Analyzing models for trace relationships

Model analysis to find broken traceability relationships between model elements, specifications, and implementations is now part of the consolidated static analysis user interface.

Using this upgraded interface, you can define analysis configurations that include analysis of your model elements in conjunction with analysis of code elements.

Open the static analysis interface by clicking Run > Analysis.

This image shows a portion of the analysis configurations dialog exposing the types of model analysis that can be performed.

This image shows a portion of the model element traceability analysis results achieved on the mobile phone sample.

UML modeling of DoDAF products

The Department of Defence Architecture Framework (DoDAF) is a standard for describing complex system architecture. Using the integrated UML modeling tools, you can create models that comply with this standard. DoDAF uses UML as a base to describe the operational environments and their components in visual, textual, and tabular formats.