TABLE OF CONTENTS This section introduces component diagrams that realise a structural view of a system. Component diagrams are often perceived as being used, in the main, at later stages of system development when it comes to packaging up the final product and delivering to the customer. However, they are also very useful for modelling legacy systems which will usually happen towards the beginning of a project. Component diagrams show real-life aspects of a system and have strong relationships to both class and object diagrams.
The simplest way to summarise why a component diagram is used is to imagine buying any product that is packaged in a box. The component diagram, basically, shows 'what's in the box' using both components and artefacts.
Component diagrams in UML 2.0 are far more powerful (and useful) than those presented in UML 1.x. Several new elements are introduced and the definition of a component is tightened up to provide a far more precise definition of what a component actually is. The elements that make up a component diagram are shown in Figure 5.72.
The diagram in Figure 5.72 shows the partial meta-model for component diagrams. There are three main elements that make up a component diagram that are: one or more 'Component', zero or more 'Interface' and zero or more 'Artefact'. Each of these is discussed in more detail since the meaning of components has changed compared to the one provided in...
