#Easy uml sequence diagram generator software

Use cases may also be related through “Uses” or “Extends” relationships. Use cases in a UCD may be grouped together into systems when the system substructure in know. Each use case has an associated sequence of actions (shown in a sequence diagram) that describe the sequence of interactions with the actor. It shows two actors (an operator and a data historian), two systems (a control system and a safety system), and three use cases. The following diagram illustrates a typical UCD. UCDs provide an overview of major external interactions, defining either normal or abnormal situations, and provide a structure for Sequence diagrams. A typical UCD may involve 3 to 10 use cases and from 1 to 10 actors. Each use case in a UCD is defined through a sequence of actions that provide some basic function of the system that has importance or value to the actor. If the interaction is only a one way interaction, then it is documented with an arrowhead on the line. Many interactions are two way, with multiple related transactions. Use cases may be nested so that one use case represents a complete UCD, which contains more detailed smaller use cases.Īn association is defined whenever an actor is involved with a use case and is represented as a solid line. A scenario represents either a normal situation with no errors or an abnormal situation where one or more errors can occur. Use cases are represented as ellipses, and, in one of the unfortunate accidents of collaborative standards (such as UML), actors are drawn as stick figures, making UCDs look like badly drawn cartoons. An actor performs one or more “roles” in an interaction diagram, such as a person performing the role of an Operator or a Supervisor or a PLC performing the role of a safety system. External systems may be a person, organization or other system and are called “actors’ in UML terminology. UCDs contain one or more use cases and illustrate how external systems interact with each use case. They essentially define the needed interfaces to processes or objects. Use case diagrams (UCDs) define system behavior through the interactions of actors and processes. If the run time in the RUNNING state is exceeded, then the device also goes to the IDLE state. If a STOP event is received, then it goes to the IDLE state independent of the current state. On a RESUME event the device goes back to RUNNING. When pausing is complete the device enters the PAUSED state. The device may be paused and when performing pausing logic, or waiting for the physical device to respond, it is in the PAUSING state.

It starts in the IDLE state and when it receives a START event it will go to the RUNNING state. The following diagram illustrates a simple nested state model for a device. In control systems, there can also be logic that is repetitively executed while in a state. Each event in a state model defines the actions that are to occur when the event happens. Guard conditions define Boolean checks that prevent an event from causing a state change, and are also used to simplify state model designs. Variable values support looping of state/event values, allowing different actions depending on the loop value. Nested states are commonly used in specifications to reduce state model complexity and make them easier to understand. Nested states support complex state models, where one event may cause a transition from multiple states. UML state models are extended to include nested states, variable values associated with states, and guard conditions. State models define the internal behavior of objects that can be implemented in procedures, function blocks, or any other type of code. UML state models are an extended version of finite state models, which are diagrams containing states and events. State Models in UML are used to define internal logic. System behavior is defined through Use Case Diagrams and Sequence Diagrams. Last month’s column described two parts of UML that deal with structural information class models and object models. The structural models can be used to generate databases, function block libraries, messages, IEC 61131-3 structured text STRUCT definitions, C# classes or C++ classes. UML defines a standard language for each of these elements.

#Easy uml sequence diagram generator software

There are three basic parts to any software structure (data and or messages), system behavior and interactions, and internal logic. UML (Unified Modeling Language) is the language of software engineering, and the ever increasing software content of automation means that it is a language that automation engineers must understand.