ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF UML EVERY DEVELOPER SHOULD KNOW

What is UML?

The UML, which stands for Unified Modeling Language, is a graphical modeling language used in the field of software engineering. UML is often used to define, visualize, build, and document the software system's artifacts (main elements). 

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Grady Booch, Ivar Jacobson, and James Rumbaugh established UML in 1994-95 at Rational Software, and it was further developed throughout 1996. The Object Management Group approved it as a standard in 1997. The Object Management Group (OMG) is a consortium of companies that oversees the open standard UML. The OMG was founded to create an open standard that primarily facilitates object-oriented commands. It is not limited to software systems, but it may also be used to simulate non-software systems. The OMG is most well-known for developing the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) specifications.

Goals of UML

• As UML is a general-purpose modeling language, it can be used by any modeler.

• Due to the lack of standard methods at the time, UML was created after the advent of object-oriented principles to systemize and consolidate object-oriented programming.

• The UML diagrams are designed for business customers, developers, ordinary people, or anyone else who wants to understand a system, whether it be software or non-software.

• As a result, it is possible to infer that the UML is a straightforward modeling approach that is utilized to describe all practical systems.

 

UML-Building Blocks

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Things, relationships, and diagrams are the three main building blocks of UML. By rotating around several different blocks, building blocks generate one complete UML model diagram. It is critical in the creation of UML diagrams. The following are the fundamental UML building blocks:

1. Things

Things are defined as any real-world entity or object. It can be classified into several categories:

• Structural things: Nouns that depict a model's static behaviour are referred to as structural things. They show the physical and conceptual elements. They consist of a class, an object, an interface, a node, collaboration, a component, and a use case.

• Behavioral things: They depict the overall behavior of the system. These include state machine, activity diagram, interaction diagram, grouping things, annotation things

• Grouping things: It is a method for connecting the elements of the UML model. The package is the only thing used for grouping in UML.

• Annotational things: It is a method for connecting the UML model's elements. In UML, the only thing used for grouping is the package.

2. Relationships

It depicts the meaningful relationships between things. It depicts the relationship between entities and defines an application's functionality. The four types of relationships are as follows:

• Dependency: Dependency is a type of relationship in which the source element is dependent on the target element. It is one of the most important UML notations. It represents the dependence of one entity on another. (denoted by a dotted line followed by an arrow at one side)

• Association: A collection of links that connect the entities to the UML model. It indicates how many elements are involved in the formation of that relationship.

• Generalization: It depicts the relationship between a broad concept (a parent class or superclass) and a specific type of that concept (a child class or subclass). It's used to explain the concept of inheritance.

• Realization: It is a semantic relationship between two things in which one defines the behavior to be performed and the other performs the mentioned behavior. It can be found at interfaces.

3. Diagrams

Diagrams are graphical representations of models that include symbols and text. In the context of the UML diagram, each symbol has a different meaning. In UML 2.0, there are thirteen different types of UML diagrams available, each with its own set of symbols. And each diagram represents a distinct dimension, perspective, and view of the system.

UML diagrams are classified into three categories:

• Structural Diagram: It represents the static view of a system by depicting its structure. It displays several objects that are present in the system.

• Behavioral Diagram: It depicts a system's behavioural characteristics. It is concerned with the system's dynamic components.

• Interaction Diagram: It is a type of behavioural diagram. It depicts the interaction of two objects as well as the flow of data between them.

Advantages of UML 

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1. Most Commonly used

UML is a well-known and well-understood software development platform. It is a standard notation used by software companies and developers. You may reasonably assume that most software developers are familiar with, if not well-versed in, UML diagrams, making them the go-to option for explaining software development models. 

2. Flexible 

UML's flexibility is really what makes it an essential and ideal choice for software development. To specifically fit the domain or technology you are implementing, you can alter the modeling parts and interactions in a UML diagram.

3. Effective Communication tool for the Software Architecture

The software architecture is the blueprint of the system. The effectiveness of the system and its procedures rely on this structure. However, this framework will only be useful if it is well explained to everyone who will be utilizing and working with it. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) takes hold in this situation.

Not only can object-oriented software engineering be modeled using UML, but also the structure and behavior of applications, as well as business processes. Stakeholders in the software industry have agreed that we cannot do without architecture specification. It is significant. It provides crucial rules for the task that is being operated and aids in performance, security, and monitoring assessments.

UML is the ideal visual language to convey detailed information about the design to the most users due to its broad appeal.

4. Various UML Tools

One of the main factors in the widespread usage of UML is the availability of UML tools. There are many different types of UML tools, ranging from free open-source software to expensive ones. Beyond only creating diagrams, these tools are quite versatile. They can use design patterns, mine requirements, build code from the design, reverse-engineer existing code, and conduct impact and complexity analyses.

These benefits, together with the profusion of UML tools themselves, have made UML the standard modeling and programming language in the software engineering industry.

5. Effective and Easy Debugging

Finding the fault in a more complex software may take hours and hours of searching, and it may also have long-term negative effects on the system. Such, with the aid of UML, a programme is effectively developed so that each of the duties has its own codes, making it simpler for the developer to debug.

Disadvantages of UML

UML is not universally favored despite the many uses and advantages it offers. In fact, a sizable portion of software developers actively discourage using UML and criticize it negatively when they do. Let's explore the justifications for not using UML.

1. No need of formal notations

The most prominent factor against UML is that you can explain your designs without a UML diagram. Informal box-and-line diagrams made in PowerPoint, Visio, or on a board can have the same impact and effect. Many developers dislike the formality and complexity at the architectural level because coding is already a formal language, which inhibits the adoption of UML and has turned into one of its drawbacks.

2. Order of Increasing Complexity

UML has increased in size and complexity since it was first developed. Many people are initially intimidated by UML's size and believe they won't be able to master it and are better off without it.

3. Not Necessary in ‘Architecture-Indifferent Design’

An architecture-indifferent design, at its heart, refers to a software architecture that is straightforward and uncomplicated and does not require any elaborate diagrams to depict or describe the design. UML is viewed as superfluous if the companies place greater focus on formal coding and if there is a widespread culture of little design documentation.

4. Time consuming

The primary off-putting drawback of UML is how long it takes to handle the diagrams. A developer must synchronize the codes needed for a software project's upkeep and time in order for the UML to provide outstanding jobs.

Conclusion

Although UML has been criticized for being redundant in the software industry, there is currently no comprehensive or suitable replacement. When you need to explain the design to a programmer who is in a different country or just someone who would be joining the group six months from now, the absence of design documentation can become an issue in the long term. In these situations, UML becomes quite helpful and eliminates doubts and ambiguity about the design. 

We may discuss domain-specific visual modeling languages, but the reality is that none of them have achieved widespread adoption, which simply confirms that UML continues to be the best visual language approach. Although there might be reasons not to use UML, it is still vital because it can capture the subtleties of design architectural information and because design documentation is becoming more and more important.