Interaction Diagrams

Last updated: May 24, 2006                         

Objectives:

• Define classes and their characteristics

• Define the two types of interaction diagrams and their importance to realizing use cases identified in the use-case model

• Identify the inputs and elements necessary to create the interaction diagrams

• Use the Rose tool to add classes and their characteristics to the model

• Create interaction diagrams to show the interaction between objects

Class Responsibilities:

• Responsibilities are listed in the operation compartment, but are prefixed by // before the responsibility name. This notation is removed when the operation is defined.

Add Analysis Classes:

• Add Classes to the Browser:

  • Open Lab5_1.mdl

  • Expand Logical View -> Expand Analysis Model

  • Add the classes under the Analysis Model

  • Right-click the class -> Click Open Specification -> Click the correct stereotype from the Stereotype list

    • Notice what happens to the stereotype in the browser

    

• Define Class Responsibilities:

  • Double-click the class in the browser to open its Specification window

  • Click the Operations tab -> Right-click the white window -> Click Insert -> Type the responsibility name over opname

    • Remember to add (//) to indicate a responsibility

  

  • Repeat above steps to add responsibilities for the remaining classes

  

Interaction Diagrams:

• Interaction diagrams are modeled in the Logical View under the appropriate use-case realization

• In Rose, you can activate Sequence numbering from the Options window. It is not a default because the location of the arrows show the relative sequence of events

• In sequence diagrams, actors who initiate an action generally appear on the left side. Passive actors appear to the right side of the diagram

• The focus of control is set up from the Diagram tab in the Options window. It is a default in Rational Rose. If you don't want the focus of control to display on your sequence diagrams, go to the Options window to turn off the feature.

• In Rose, collaboration numbering is activated (a default). We recommend leaving the numbering on, since collaboration diagrams are not time ordered.

Create a Sequence Diagram:

• Add Sequence Diagram to the Browser

  • Open Lab6_1.mdl

  • Add the Maintain Personal Planner sequence diagram under its use-case realization in the browser -> Open the diagram

    • Name the diagram after its use case followed by the type of flow

• Add Actor and classes:

  • Find Actors from the Use-Case Model and Analysis Classes from the Analysis Model

  • Drag these elements from the browser into the diagram window

• Add Object Messages:

  • Click the Object Message icon in the diagram toolbar. -> Drag the mouse from the lifeline of the sending object to the lifeline of the receiving object.

    • For the message to self: Click the Message to self icon -> Click on the sending object's lifeline

    • if the Focus of Control is on, notice the varying lengths

• Add Responsibilities to Object Messages:

  • Right-click the object message -> Click the responsibility from the list of existing responsibilities

• Add the note and the anchor

Show Unresolved Objects:

• An unresolved object is any object that does not have a class specified

• The Show Unresolved Objects report lists all unresolved objects in an Interaction Diagram

Show Unresolved Messages:

• An unresolved message indicates that an object does not have an operation assigned to it

• The Show Unresolved Messages report lists all unresolved messages in an Interaction Diagram

Documentation Report:

• You can generate this report for any Rose diagram created in either the Logical or Component View

• This report generates a formatted Microsoft Word document of the logical or Component View of a selection

• The Documentation Report generates a data dictionary from a model using Microsoft Word OLE Automation objects

Auto Generate a Communication Diagram:

• Auto Generate the communication Diagram:

  • Open Lab6.1_mdl -> Open the sequence diagram

  • Press F5 to auto generate the communication diagram

    • You'll have to arrange the diagram elements.

    • Notice the communication diagram is added to the browser

    • You may resize the diagram elements: Format -> Click Automatic Resize or Autosize All

    • Technically, there is less-diagram cleanup when you generate a sequence diagram from a communication diagram

• Run Reports:

  • Report -> Click each of the reports

• Try These Activities:

  • Delete one of the responsibilities from the object message

          -> Run Show Unresolved Messages report

  • From the diagram toolbar, add an object to the diagram and name it George -> Run Show Unresolved Objects report

  • Add a note that links the sequence diagram to the communication diagram

    • Open the communication diagram

    • Click the Note icon in the diagram toolbar and add it to the diagram

    • From the browser, drag the sequence diagram into the note

    • Double-click the note

VOPC Class Diagrams:

• A VOPC class diagram shows a use-case realization's participating classes and the relationships among those classes

• It shows all classes whose instances collaborate to perform the use case and their relationships

• It ensures consistency in use-case implementation across subsystem boundaries

• Like interaction diagrams, there is one class diagram associated with each flow through a use case. It's just a shift in focus. You'll now concentrate on classes and their relationships, not objects and their relationships

• Interaction diagrams represent the dynamic view of the system, and class diagrams represent the static view

• Do not include actors on your class diagrams. They exist outside the system, and you are modeling the system itself

• They are modeled in the Logical View and show the static view of the system

• Role Names:

  • Role names preferable to association names when sufficient information is available

  • Role names should always be used during design

  • Note that Rational Rose automatically places a symbol next to the role name to indicate how the class and its elements are seen outside the package where the class is defined. Examples are public (+), private (-), protected (#), and implementation (no symbol).

• Show Access Violations:

  • An access violation occurs when a class in one package references a class in another package in the absence of an import relationship between the two packages. The following represent Export Control values in Rose (Association Specification window)

    • Public: The element is visible outside of the enclosing package and you can import it to other portions of your model. Operations are accessible to all clients

    • Protected: The element is visible to any of its descendants

    • Private: The element is visible only to itself or elements nested within it

    • Implementation: The element is visible only in the package in which it is defined. An operation is part of the implementation of the class

  • An access violation also occurs when a package references a class from another package, whose export control is set to Implementation

  • The Show Access Violations report lists all access violations between packages in a class diagram

• Show Instances:

  • The Show Instances report lists all the interaction diagrams where instances of the class appear

Create a Class Diagram:

• Add Class Diagram to the Browser:

  • Open Lab7_1.mdl

  • Add the Maintain Personal Planner class diagram under its use-case realization in the browser -> Open the diagram

• Add Classes to the Diagram:

  • View the Maintain Personal Planner's communication diagram to determine the classes to add to the class diagram

  • Drag the design classes from the browser into the diagram window

• Add Associations:

  • Use the communication diagram to determine the relationships between classes

  • From the diagram toolbar in the class diagram: Click the Unidirectional Association icon -> Drag the mouse from the sending class to the receiving class

  

• Add Role Names and Multiplicity:

  • Double-click the association to open the Association Specification Window

  • From the General tab: Type Current Profile in the Role A field -> Click the Role A Detail tab to add Role A's multiplicity

  • From the Multiplicity list, click 0..1

  • Click the Role B Detail to add Role B's multiplicity

          -> From the Multiplicity list, click 0..1

  • Try adding multiplicity between the boundary and control classes