Modeling Languages and Tools

Do you remember that post where I mentioned UML very briefly?

Okay, actually it was on the 18th. Anyway, in that post I mentioned how due to its use of the UML, Unified Modelling Language, UP is easier to understand for everyone who already understands UML.

So now the time has come to actually understand UML? Well two of my next posts will be completely dedicated to that. First we try to understand what a modelling language is.

A modelling language is an artificially formal language, which means it has been designed in a way in which form and meaning are stuck. It can be used to show definitions of terms and information, knowledge or requirements of products, systems or processes. Now the link with software processes becomes clearer. The software processes are built using modelling languages because they are to be followed and edited within a company by people with different roles over a possibly long time period. We want the language to state the process clearly, independent of the person who writing the process for the software system and independently of time.

Modelling languages can be textual or graphical computer languages. They have a set of rules and components which can be used to describe the software during the process. This is why using modelling languages is vastly superior over just coding with an idea in your head. You want to have a clear overview of what you want your software to be able to do, how you want the software to interact with different actors. This clear overview is not just for you, the single programmer, but for everyone involved in the program.

We have different categories of modelling languages: object, system, virtual reality, data modeling languages and a few more.

So now we have the language, but how to portray all the language? For this often modelling tools are used. The tools may be capable of automatically translating the models to code. There are tools for different purposes. For UML for example, here is a list of all the different tools, ranging from diagramming applications to business process modelling applications.

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