The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has rapidly become the standard notation for modeling software-intensive systems. This book provides the definitive description of UML from its original developers--James Rumbaugh, Ivar Jacobson, and Grady Booch. Whether you are capturing requirements, developing a software architecture, designing the implementation, or trying to understand an existing system, this is the book for you.

The majority of the book is a unique alphabetical list of articles covering every aspect of UML in a form convenient for quick reference and detailed study. This format permits full coverage of UML details as well as high-level articles without confusing the reader by constant shifts in level. The first part of the book--a complete summary of UML concepts organized by subject area--provides an introduction to UML for the newcomer as well as entry points into the detailed articles.

Highlights of the book include:

• Two-color diagrams, extensively annotated
• Thorough coverage of both semantics and notation, separated in each article for easy reference
• Further explanations of concepts whose meaning or purpose is obscure in the original specifications
• Discussion sections offering usage advice and additional insight into tricky concepts
• A hyperlinked version of the book in Adobe Reader format on CD-ROM, an excellent resource for browsing or searching the text for specific information
• Full text of the UML specification documents on CD-ROM, courtesy of the Object Management Group
• Notation summary, with hyperlinks to individual articles on CD-ROM