BKUMLNSH.RVW   981101

"UML in a Nutshell", Sinan Si Alhir, 1998, 1-56592-448-7,
U$19.95/C$29.95
%A   Sinan Si Alhir salhir@earthlink.net
%C   103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA   95472
%D   1998
%G   1-56592-448-7
%I   O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O   U$19.95/C$29.95 800-998-9938 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com
%P   275 p.
%T   "UML in a Nutshell"

James Gosling probably didn't intend it that way, but Java has a lot
to answer for.  It was the "proof of concept" for the theory that if
you throw a sufficient number of adjectives at a new technology it
becomes worthwhile.  Why else would we be told that UML (Unified
Modeling Language) is a "general-purpose, broadly applicable, tool-
supported, industry-standardized modeling language?"

Part one introduces UML.  Chapter one presents some basics, including
a history and a description of standards documentation. 
Interestingly, while the preface claims all of technology as the field
for UML, the history makes it clear that the language arose from
object-oriented methodology, and makes the case for UML both more
limited and clearer: UML may be to object programming what
flowcharting was to procedural programming.  The business cycle
manage-babble in chapter two does not help much, but the few clear
sections do reinforce the object-oriented origins.  Using a more
strictly object programming terminology, this view is strengthened
again with greater clarity in chapter three.

Part two looks at the use of UML.  Chapter four is a tutorial.  It
suffers from the eagerness of the author to both get right into the
tools without laying groundwork first, and a continued propensity to
try to be as general as possible in order to prove the UML can be used
for anything.  In this case, the objectives of the system to be
modelled are not defined in advance, and so the diagrams and
explanations are not very enlightening: are we talking about people?
processes? programs? functions?  An overview of the architecture and
structures of UML is given in chapter five.

Part three presents the reference material that forms the backbone of
the Nutshell series books.  Chapters six through thirteen explain the
diagramming and model organization, class and object diagrams, use
case diagrams, sequence diagrams, collaboration diagrams, statechart
diagrams, activity diagrams, component diagrams, deployment diagrams,
extension mechanisms (for expanding the language), and the object
constraint language (OCL).

While slightly marred by a tendency to oversell, this is a serviceable
reference for those using UML.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998   BKUMLNSH.RVW   981101