Has anyone used UML?

[Mats Wichmann]

On 6 Jun 2001 17:14:26 GMT, elf at halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg) wrote:

>In article <pcolmn9y349.fsf at thoth.home> 
>    Harald Hanche-Olsen <hanche at math.ntnu.no> writes:
>
>>+ Tim Churches <tchur at optushome.com.au>:
>
>>| No experience (I am in a similar situation to you wrt UML), just
>>| some advice: don't buy the O'Reilly book 'UML in a Nutshell' - it
is
>>| the only O'Reilly title I have encountered which is truly woeful
>>| (most are quite good).
>
>>Hmm.  Has it occured to you that this might be a reflection on UML
>>rather than on the book per se?
>
>        No, it's true.  The UML book by O'Reilly is atrocious.  The
>author tries *so hard* to convince the reader that UML is not about
>modelling programs but about modelling "business practices" that he
goes
>overboard avoiding programming examples.  The author also seems to
>introduce topics at random without going through the process of
actually
>creating a model for the user to use.
>
>        The big problem I have with UML is that it's owned, lock,
stock
>and barrell, by Rational Rose.  Every book I have seen on the subject
>cheerleads Rational Rose products and makes it sound like, "yes, you
can
>do it without Rational Rose, but you can also build a computer with
>tinkertoys.  Why do that when we'll give your our
>superduperdeluxeUMLpackage for only $79,999.95?"

Yes, it's kind of interesting that way.  Three of the main
practitioners of OO methodologies and modeling strategies all ended up
working for Rational,  leaving them with the odd situation of having
the proponents of three different modelling schemes on staff.  Clearly
that's a problem they needed to solve, and along the way, the solution
has become a standard, not that that's a bad thing for the rest of us
either, but it seems to be something that benefits Rational most of
all...  on the other hand, it may be that Rational Rose really is
"that damn good" (personally, I have zero experience with it).


Mats Wichmann

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