Attribute values are equal for all instances. Class members are commonly recognized as “static” in many programming languages. Method invocation may affect the instance’s state (i.e. Attribute values may vary between instances. Instance members are scoped to a specific instance. The UML specifies two types of scope for members: instance and class, and the latter is represented by underlined names. any attribute or method), these notations must be placed before the member's name: +Ī derived property is a property whose value (or values) is produced or computed from other information, for example, by using values of other properties.Ī derived property is shown with its name preceded by a forward slash '/'. To specify the visibility of a class member (i.e. UML provides mechanisms to represent class members, such as attributes and methods, and additional information about them like constructors. They are also left-aligned and the first letter is lowercase. The bottom compartment contains the operations the class can execute. They are left-aligned and the first letter is lowercase. The middle compartment contains the attributes of the class. It is printed in bold and centered, and the first letter is capitalized. The top compartment contains the name of the class. In the diagram, classes are represented with boxes that contain three compartments: The classes in a class diagram represent both the main elements, interactions in the application, and the classes to be programmed. Class diagrams can also be used for data modeling. It is used for general conceptual modeling of the structure of the application, and for detailed modeling, translating the models into programming code. The class diagram is the main building block of object-oriented modeling. Each subpart has a Boolean value that indicates whether or not the instance belongs to the associated subtype.In software engineering, a class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a type of static structure diagram that describes the structure of a system by showing the system's classes, their attributes, operations (or methods), and the relationships among objects. Overlapping subtypes - composite attributes whose subparts pertain to various subtypes. The attribute's values are what determine the target subtype.ĭisjoint subtypes - simple attributes that must have alternative values to indicate any possible subtypes. It is represented with a single line connection.Ī subtype discriminator is an attribute of the supertype that indicates an entity's subtype. The partial specialization rule allows an entity to not belong to any of the subclasses. Just as with a regular ERD, total specialization is symbolized with a double line connection between entities. The total specialization rule demands that every entity in the superclass belong to some subclass. The overlap rule forces a subclass (also known as a supertype instance) to have overlapping sets of entities.Ĭompleteness constraints - decide whether a supertype instance must also be a member of at least one subtype. The disjoint rule forces subclasses to have disjoint sets of entities. Specialization - the opposite of generalization, since it defines subtypes of the supertype and determines the relationship between the two.ĭisjointness constraints - You will need to decide whether a supertype instance may simultaneously be a member of two or more subtypes. Generalization - the process of defining a general entity type from a collection of specialized entity types. Note: subtype instances are also classified as supertype instances. Inheritance - the concept that subtype entities inherit the values of all supertype attributes. Subtype - a subgroup of entities with unique attributes. Supertype - an entity type that relates to one or more subtypes. MOVIE ER DIAGRAM DATABASE SUPERCLASS AND UPPERCLASS HOW TO
As soon as you fully understand ERD structure, you’re ready to learn how to create enhanced ER diagrams. If you need to brush up on the basic concepts of ERDs, check out our ER diagram tutorial, including this guide to the basic ER diagram symbols. The definitions of concepts listed below are unique to enhanced entity-relationship diagrams and can help to understand how the modeling concepts of EERDs differ from those of ERDs.