An object-modeling language is a standardized set of symbols used to model a software system using an

object-oriented Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of " objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of p ...

framework. The symbols can be either informal or formal ranging from predefined graphical templates to formal object models defined by grammars and specifications. A modeling language is usually associated with a

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

for object-oriented development. The modeling language defines the elements of the model. E.g., that a model has classes, methods, object properties, etc. The methodology defines the steps developers and users need to take to develop and maintain a software system. Steps such as ''Define requirements'', ''Develop code'', and ''Test system''. UML History

It is common to equate the modeling language and the modeling methodology. For example, the

Booch method The Booch method is a method for object-oriented software development. It is composed of an object modeling language, an iterative object-oriented development process, and a set of recommended practices. The method was authored by Grady Booch wh ...

may refer to

Grady Booch Grady Booch (born February 27, 1955) is an American software engineer, best known for developing the Unified Modeling Language (UML) with Ivar Jacobson and James Rumbaugh. He is recognized internationally for his innovative work in software archi ...

's standard for diagramming, his methodology, or both. Or the Rumbaugh

Object Modeling Technique The object-modeling technique (OMT) is an object modeling approach for software modeling and designing. It was developed around 1991 by Rumbaugh, Blaha, Premerlani, Eddy and Lorensen as a method to develop object-oriented systems and to suppor ...

is both a set of diagrams and a process model for developing object-oriented systems. In the early years of the object-oriented community there were several competing modeling and methodology standards. Booch and Rumbaugh were two of the most popular.

Ivar Jacobson Ivar Hjalmar Jacobson (born 1939) is a Swedish computer scientist and software engineer, known as major contributor to UML, Objectory, Rational Unified Process (RUP), aspect-oriented software development and Essence. Biography Ivar Jacobson ...

's Objectory, Shlaer-Mellor, and Yourdon-Coad were also popular. However, the object-oriented community values re-use and standardization. As shown in the graphic there were efforts starting in the mid 1990s to reconcile the leading models and focus on one unified specification. The graphic shows the evolution of one of the most important object modeling language standards: the

Unified Modeling Language The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose, developmental modeling language in the field of software engineering that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system. The creation of UML was originally ...

(UML). The UML began as an attempt by some of the major thought leaders in the community to define a standard language at the OOPSLA '95 Conference. Originally, Grady Booch and

James Rumbaugh James E. Rumbaugh (born August 22, 1947) is an American computer scientist and object-oriented methodologistRational Software Rational Machines is an enterprise founded by Paul Levy and Mike Devlin in 1981 to provide tools to expand the use of modern software engineering practices, particularly explicit modular architecture and iterative development. It changed its ...

purchasing Ivar Jacobson's Objectory company and merging their model into the UML. At the time Rational and Objectory were two of the dominant players in the small world of independent vendors of Object-Oriented tools and methods. The

Object Management Group The Object Management Group (OMG) is a computer industry standards consortium. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a range of technologies. Business activities The goal of the OMG was a common portable and interoperab ...

then picked up and took over ownership of the UML. The OMG is one of the most influential standards organizations in the object-oriented world. The UML is both a formal metamodel and a collection of graphical templates. The meta-model defines the elements in an object-oriented model such as classes and properties. It is essentially the same thing as the meta-model in object-oriented languages such as Smalltalk or CLOS. However, in those cases the meta-model is meant primarily to be used by developers at run time to dynamically inspect and modify an application object model. The UML meta-model provides a mathematical formal foundation for the various graphic views used by the modeling language to describe an emerging system. The following diagram illustrates the class hierarchy of the various graphic templates defined by the UML. ''Structure diagrams'' define the static structure of an object: its place in the class hierarchy, its relation to other objects, etc. ''Behavior diagrams'' specify the dynamic aspects of the model, business process logic, coordination and timing of distributed objects, etc.

References

{{reflist Object-oriented programming