Properties of operations on UML class diagrams
Note
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On a UML class diagram, you can add operations to classes and interfaces. An operation is a method or function that can be performed by an instance of a class or interface.
To add an operation, right-click the class or interface, point to Add, and then click Operation.
If the operations of a class on the diagram are not visible, click the expand chevron at the top of the class or interface. If you can see the Operation header, click [+] to expand the operations section.
Signature of an Operation
The signature of an operation is the line of text that represents it in a class or interface on a UML class diagram. It has the following form:
+ OperationName (parameter1 : Type1 [*], ...) : ReturnType [*]
+ denotes public Visibility. The other permitted values are - (private), # (protected), ~ (package).
OperationName is underlined if the Is Static property is true, and is italic if the Is Abstract property is true.
: ReturnType is omitted if no return type is defined.
[*] denotes the multiplicity of a parameter or return type. It is omitted if the multiplicity is 1.
See the next section for a full description of these properties.
Properties
These are the properties of an operation in a class or interface on a UML class diagram.
To see the properties of an operation, right-click the operation in the class or interface on the diagram, and then click Properties. The properties appear in the Properties window.
| Property | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | (a new name) | Should be unique within the containing type. |
| Parameters | (none) | A list that has the form name:Type, name:Type, …. Click […] to edit the list. The types can be primitive types, or types that are defined in the model. If you enter a name for a new type in this property, a type will be added to the Unspecified Types section of UML Model Explorer. |
| Return Type | (none) | (none), or a primitive type, or a type that is defined in the model. If you enter a name for a new type in this property, a type will be added to the Unspecified Types section of UML Model Explorer. |
| Postconditions | (none) | An optional condition specifying a relationship between the state of the system before and after the operation's execution. |
| Preconditions | (none) | An optional condition specifying the assumptions about the state of the system before the operation begins execution. |
| Body Conditions | (none) | An optional constraint on the values returned by the operation. |
| Visibility | Public | The permitted values, and the characters that appear in the signature are: + Public - visible globally - Private - not visible outside the owning type # Protected - visible to types derived from the owner ~ Package - visible to other types within the same package. |
| Signature | +Name() | Summarizes the visibility, name, parameters, and return type of this operation. You can change these properties by editing the signature on the diagram, or by editing the individual properties. |
| Work Items | 0 associated | Count of associated work items. Read-only. For more information, see Link model elements and work items. |
| Concurrency | Sequential | Sequential - The operation is or will be designed without concurrency control. Calling this operation concurrently might result in failures. Guarded - The operation will automatically block until other instances of it have completed. Concurrent - The operation is designed so that multiple calls to it can execute concurrently. |
| Is Static | False | If true, this operation is shared between all instances of this type. If true, the name of the operation will be underlined where it appears on the diagram. |
| Is Abstract | False | If true, no code is associated with this operation. Therefore, the owning class is abstract. |
| Is Leaf | False | The designer intends that this operation cannot be overridden in derived classes. |
| Is Query | False | If true, no significant changes to the state of the system are made by this operation. Therefore, it can be used, for example, in a test to check the state of the system. |
| Multiplicity | 1 | 1 - a single value of the specified type. 0..1 - can be null.* - a collection of values of the specified type. 1..\* - a collection containing at least one value. n .. m - a collection that contains between n and m values. |
| Is Ordered | False | If true, the collection forms a sequential list. For Multiplicity more than 1. |
| Is Unique | False | If true, there are no duplicate values in the collection. For Multiplicity more than 1. |
See Also
UML Class Diagrams: Reference Properties of types on UML class diagrams Properties of attributes on UML class diagrams Properties of associations on UML class diagrams UML Class Diagrams: Guidelines