Component (UML)
Encyclopedia
A component in the Unified Modeling Language
"represents a modular part of a system
, that encapsulates its content and whose manifestation is replaceable within its environment
. A component defines its behavior
in terms of provided and required interfaces
".
A component may be replaced by another if and only if their provided and required interfaces are identical. This idea is the underpinning for the plug-and-play
capability of component-based systems and promotes software reuse.
As can be seen from the above definition, UML places no restriction on the granularity of a component. Thus, a component may be as small as a figures-to-words converter, or as large as an entire document management system
.
Larger pieces of a system
's functionality may be assembled by reusing components as parts in an encompassing component or assembly of components, and wiring together their required and provided interfaces." Such assemblies are illustrated by means of component diagram
s.
Unified Modeling Language
Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
"represents a modular part of a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
, that encapsulates its content and whose manifestation is replaceable within its environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
. A component defines its behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
in terms of provided and required interfaces
Interface (computer science)
In the field of computer science, an interface is a tool and concept that refers to a point of interaction between components, and is applicable at the level of both hardware and software...
".
A component may be replaced by another if and only if their provided and required interfaces are identical. This idea is the underpinning for the plug-and-play
Plug-and-play
In computing, plug and play is a term used to describe the characteristic of a computer bus, or device specification, which facilitates the discovery of a hardware component in a system, without the need for physical device configuration, or user intervention in resolving resource conflicts.Plug...
capability of component-based systems and promotes software reuse.
As can be seen from the above definition, UML places no restriction on the granularity of a component. Thus, a component may be as small as a figures-to-words converter, or as large as an entire document management system
Document management system
A document management system is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents. It is usually also capable of keeping track of the different versions created by different users . The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management...
.
Larger pieces of a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
's functionality may be assembled by reusing components as parts in an encompassing component or assembly of components, and wiring together their required and provided interfaces." Such assemblies are illustrated by means of component diagram
Component diagram
In the Unified Modeling Language, a component diagram depicts how components are wired together to form larger components and or software systems.They are used to illustrate the structure of arbitrarily complex systems.- Overview :...
s.