Sunday, January 16, 2005

OOPs, part V: Suddenly not so classy

Well, this is interesting.

And frustrating.

Trying to figure out where to put what in a class diagram felt very natural, and things made sense. However, that which I expected to be easiest... my sequence diagram... is proving to be a great challenge. But, I think I'm getting it.

For some reason, this isn't feeling quite as intuitive, still not that bad, but it's taking some work to get things like who's doing the calling and who's doing the answering, the fact that set and get are reflexive terms, and how to use the interface for Together to model some of my init methods (they get too wide for the screen sometimes).

I think the hardest part of the process was figuring out where to start. UML2 allows an initial signal to be represented by a line coming in from the edge of the diagram, representing that which initiated the sequence... but Together doesn't really seem to like that idea much. Maybe I'm just doing something wrong. However, once I decided that I'd start the diagram from the perspective that the listener object was already instantiated and it's Configure method was called (basically, I'm imagining the kickoff signal is really there) I could at least get started.

Oh, I know why Together won't let me do an input signal on the chart... I'm using UML 1.4 rules to draw the chart. Duh... ok, so it's like 4AM and I'm beat. I was at friends house gaming all night last night (if you read my profile you'd know I like RPGs) and decided to check in with my model before going to sleep. I missed it... I'm having fun with this.

I think the thing that I like best about this whole process is that it makes you do what math teachers call "prove your answers" or "show your work." Use cases are like your scratch notes, from where you did math on paper instead of in your head. A Class Diagram is sort of like writing out a neat representation of the problem's components and the proposed answer, and a Sequence diagram is like the part of the answer where you show each operation as you, say, do an algebra problem, to prove why or how you ended up with the answer you gave.

The other thing that I like about this process is... well, there's 2 other things. Or two parts of the same other thing. Part the First is the fact that I am able to approach a problem and document my concept, so I really have the feeling of being in control and able to understand what I'm up against and my answer to it. Part the Second is that if I'm needing verification of my ideas, since I'm documenting them in UML it's very easy to send the diagrams to someone for verification. Since UML is fairly standard (each environment having a certain "dialect" I'd guess, but overall very similar) I can just show the diagram to someone and behold, they know instantly what I'm proposing. Gives one a deep feeling of security.

However, it's now only about 10 minutes shy of 5 AM, and I'm beat. I'm going to bed, and don't wake me up unless it's important. Thank you. *g*

Laterz!

posted by Jared @ 2:33 AM