ACM

Communications of the ACM

Home/Magazine Archive/July 2017 (Vol. 60, No. 7)/The IDAR Graph/Abstract

Practice

The IDAR Graph

By Mark A. Overton
Communications of the ACM, July 2017, Vol. 60 No. 7, Pages 40-45
10.1145/3079970
Comments

View as: Print Mobile App ACM Digital Library In the Digital Edition Share: Send by email Share on reddit Share on StumbleUpon Share on Hacker News Share on Tweeter Share on Facebook

The IDAR Graph, illustrative photo — Credit: Fabrika Simf

Unified modeling language (UML)⁶ is the de facto standard for representing object-oriented designs. It does a fine job of recording designs, but it has a severe problem: its diagrams don't convey what humans need to know, making the diagrams difficult to understand. This is why most software developers use UML only when forced to.¹

For example, the UML diagrams in Figures 1 and 2 portray the embedded software in a fax machine. While these diagrams are attractive, they do not even tell you which objects control which others. Which object is the topmost controller over this fax machine? You don't know. Which object(s) control the Modem object? You don't know.

No entries found

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.