Appendix D. Tabular Notations


This appendix describes optional tabular notations for UML behavioral diagrams, that some vendors or users may want to use as alternatives to UML's graphic notation. Although this appendix mostly describes tabular notations for sequence diagrams, the approach may also be applied to other kinds of behavioral diagrams.

D.1 Tabular Notation for Sequence Diagrams

This section describes an optional tabular notation for sequence diagrams. The table row descriptions for this notation follow:
  1. Lifeline Class: Designates Class name of Lifeline. If there is no Class name on the Lifeline symbol, this class name is omitted.
  2. Lifeline Instance: Designates Instance name of Lifeline. If there is no Instance name on the Lifeline symbol, this instance name is omitted.
  3. Constraint: Designates some kind of constraint. For example, indication of oblique line is denoted as "{delay}". To represent CombinedFragments, those operators are denoted with an index adorned by square bracket. In a case of InteractionOccurrence, it is shown as parenthesized "Diagram ID", which designates referred Interaction Diagram, with "ref" tag, like "ref(M.sq)"..
  4. Message Sending Class: Designates the message sending class name for each incoming arrow.
  5. Message Sending instance: Designates the message sending instance name for each incoming arrow. In a case of Gate message that is outgoing message from InteractionOccurrence, it is shown as parenthesized "Diagram ID", which designates referred Interaction Diagram, with underscore, like "_(M.sq)".
  6. Diagram ID: Identifies the document that describes the corresponding sequence/communication diagram and can be the name of the file that contains the corresponding sequence or communication diagram.
  7. Generated instance name: An identifier name that is given to each instance symbol in the sequence /communication diagram. The identifier name is unique in each document.
  8. Sequence Number: The corresponding message number on the sequence /communication diagram.
  9. Weak Order: Designates partial (relative) orders of events, as ordered on individual lifelines and across lifelines, given a message receive event has to occur after its message send event. See definition of weak order (section 34.1 in the U2 partners submission.) Events are shown as "e" + event order + event direction (incoming or outgoing).
  10. Message name: The corresponding message name on the sequence /communication diagram.
  11. Parameter: A set of parameter variable names and parameter types of the corresponding message on the sequence/communication diagrams.
  12. Return value: The return value type of the corresponding message on the sequence/communication diagram.
  13. Message Receiving Class: Designates the message receiving class name for each outgoing arrow.
  14. Message Receiving Instance: Designates the message receiving instance name for each outgoing arrow. In a case of Gate message that is outgoing message from ordinary instance symbol, it is shown as parenthesized message name with "out_" tag, like "(out_s)".
  15. Other End: Designates event order of another end on the each message.

Examples










D.2
Tabular Notation for Other Behavioral Diagrams

The approach for defining tabular notation for sequence diagrams should also be applicable to other major behavioral diagram types, such as state machine diagrams and activity diagrams.