UML Weekend Crash Course™ - To Parent Directory

256
Sunday Morning
Components may depend on one another. For example, an executable (.exe) may require
access to a dynamic link library (.dll), or a client application may depend on a server side
application, which in turn depends on a database interface.
Components may be dependent on classes. For example, to compile an executable file,
you may need to supply the source classes.
Given the key elements, component, component interface, and dependencies, you can
describe the physical implementation of your system in terms of the software modules and
the relationships among them.
Defining the Notation for Components
and Component Dependencies
A component icon is modeled as a rectangle with two small rectangles centered on the left
edge. The name is placed inside the icon, as in Figure 25-1.
OrderEntry.exe
Figure 25-1
Component icon and name
Note
The two small rectangles are left over from an old notation that used to put
the component interfaces in the rectangles.
Component stereotypes
Component stereotypes provide visual clues to the role that the component plays in the
implementation. Some common component stereotypes include:
: A component that runs on a processor
: A set of resources referenced by an executable during runtime
: A database component accessed by an executable
: Typically represents data or source code
: A document such as a page inserted into a Web page
These stereotypes refer to classifiers (implementations of the classes defined earlier in
the process) and artifacts of the implementation of the classifiers, such as the source code,
binary files, and databases.