Cycoda: UML

Unified Modelling Language (UML)

Modelling can be thought of as the analysis and design of software applications before coding.

Cycoda uses the Object Management Group's (OMG) Unified Modelling Language (UML) which helps specify, visualise and document the models of software systems, including their structure and design. UML defines a number of diagrams:

Why Cycoda uses UML

Well designed applications must be structured in a way that enables scalability, security, and robust execution under stressful conditions, and their structure - frequently referred to as their architecture - must be defined clearly enough that maintenance programmers can quickly find and fix a bug that shows up long after the original authors have moved on to other projects.

Good system design and modelling benefits programs of any size - it also helps deal with complexity as systems grow in size. Another benefit is that it enables code reuse: Design time is the easiest time to structure an application as a collection of self-contained modules or components. Eventually, enterprises build up a library of models of components, each one representing an implementation stored in a library of code modules. When another application needs the same functionality, the designer can quickly import its module from the library. At coding time, the developer can just as quickly import the code module into the executable.

A model plays the analogous role in software development that blueprints and other plans play in the building of a building. Using a model, those responsible for a software development project's success can assure themselves that business functionality is complete and correct, end-user needs are met, program design supports requirements for scalability, robustness, security, extendibility, and other characteristics, before implementation in code renders changes difficult and expensive to make.