The second edition of Martin Fowler's bestselling UML Distilled provides updates to the Unified Modeling Language (UML) without changing its basic formula for success. It is still arguably the best resource for quick, no-nonsense explanations of using UML.

The major strength of UML Distilled is its short, concise presentation of the essentials of UML and where it fits within today's software development process. The book describes all the major UML diagram types, what they're for, and the basic notation involved in creating and deciphering them. These diagrams include use cases; class and interaction diagrams; collaborations; and state, activity, and physical diagrams. The examples are always clear, and the explanations cut to the fundamental design logic.

For the second edition, the material has been reworked for use cases and activity diagrams, plus there are numerous small tweaks throughout, including the latest UML v. 1.3 standard. An appendix even traces the evolution of UML versions.

Working developers often don't have time to keep up with new innovations in software engineering. This new edition lets you get acquainted with some of the best thinking about efficient object-oriented software design using UML in a convenient format that will be essential to anyone who designs software professionally. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: UML basics, analysis and design, outline development (software development process), inception, elaboration, managing risks, construction, transition, use case diagrams, class diagrams, interaction diagrams, collaborations, state diagrams, activity diagrams, physical diagrams, patterns, and refactoring basics.


Book News, Inc.
A pioneer in the field provides software developer users of this industry standard with a foundation for integrating the Unified Modeling Language into the object-oriented development process, in the context of its history. Appends modeling techniques and their uses, and changes between UML versions. -- Copyright © 1999 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR All rights reserved Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR


Book Info
Provides a guide designed for the professional programmer interested in improving the internal design of existing code. Softcover. DLC: Object-oriented methods (Computer science).


Card catalog description
"Now widely adopted as the de facto industry standard and sanctioned by the Object Management Group, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a notation all software developers need to know and understand. However, the UML is comprehensive in scope, and not all of it is equally important. The award-winning first edition of UML Distilled was widely praised for being a concise guide to the core parts of the UML and has proved extremely successful in helping developers get up and running quickly. UML Distilled, Second Edition, maintains the concise format but adds significantly updated coverage of use cases and activity diagrams, and expanded coverage of collaborations. It also includes a new appendix detailing the changes between UML versions."--BOOK JACKET.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
UML 2 represents the most significant overhaul to UML since it was first agreed upon. One thing hasn￯﾿ﾽt changed, though: UML Distilled is the place to begin.

Over the years, Martin Fowler￯﾿ﾽs short book has collected raves from folks who know...folks like Jim Rumbaugh and Stephen J. Mellor. It￯﾿ﾽs just so accessible, clear, realistic -- and so well-focused on the essence of UML. This edition￯﾿ﾽs no exception.

Many folks treat UML as a tool for informal, collaborative ￯﾿ﾽsketching￯﾿ﾽ: roughing out issues and alternatives or clarifying a legacy system￯﾿ﾽs behavior. This may be the only UML book they￯﾿ﾽll ever need. Others use it to build exhaustive blueprints for coding. Some are even trying to compile UML diagrams directly to executable code: The UML is the source. Blueprinters and ￯﾿ﾽexecutable XML￯﾿ﾽ types will eventually need to go beyond this book￯﾿ﾽs 170 pages, but Fowler does a superb job of getting them started.

After a thoughtful essay on integrating UML into your workflow, he introduces each ￯﾿ﾽofficial￯﾿ﾽ UML diagram type. He begins with class diagrams -- from the basics through advanced topics such as parameterization. There￯﾿ﾽs a solid introduction to use cases: the diagrams, when to use them, and how they relate to features and ￯﾿ﾽuser stories.￯﾿ﾽ There￯﾿ﾽs expert coverage of state machine diagrams, from internal activities to concurrent states.

Among the many UML 2 updates: a new chapter on composite structures for describing classes hierarchically (very helpful in managing complexity). There￯﾿ﾽs also far more coverage of activity diagrams, which have been extensively enhanced to permit the modeling of complex processes. If you￯﾿ﾽre new to UML, you￯﾿ﾽll admire this slim volume -- as you use it to start getting results, fast. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Would you like to understand the most important elements of Class diagrams? (See page 35.) Do you want to see the new UML 2.0 Interaction frame notation for adding control flow to sequence diagrams (see page 58) and the unofficial notation that many prefer? (See page 60.) Do you want to know what changes have been made to all versions of the UML? (See page 151.) Do you want a quick reference to the most useful parts of the UML notation? (See the inside covers.) Do you want to find out what diagram types were added to the UML 2.0 without wading through the spec? More than 300,000 developers have benefited from past editions of UML Distilled. This third edition is the best resource for quick, no-nonsense insights into understanding and using UML 2.0 and prior versions of the UML. Some readers will want to quickly get up to speed with the UML 2.0 and learn the essentials of the UML. Others will use this book as a handy, quick reference to the most common parts of the UML. The author delivers on both of these promises in a short, concise, and focused presentation.

This book describes all the major UML diagram types, what they're used for, and the basic notation involved in creating and deciphering them. These diagrams include class, sequence, object, package, deployment, use case, state machine, activity, communication, composite structure, component, interaction overview, and timing diagrams. The examples are clear and the explanations cut to the fundamental design logic. If you are like most developers, you don't have time to keep up with all the new innovations in software engineering. This new edition of Fowler's classic work gets you acquainted with some of the best thinking about efficient object-oriented software design using the UML -- in a convenient format that will be essential to anyone who designs software professionally.

FROM THE CRITICS

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