Getting started with UML

**scotspine** · 19 June 2009, 19:13

people rant about the fowler book. it's a drudge ;(

**minestrone** · 19 June 2009, 19:33

Got to had it to Fowler, he knows how to make money out of old rope.

At no point in my Engineering degree did I have to refer to a book to understand a drawing. "what's that?" "it's a damper" "OK". But Fowler can string out half a book on class diagrams.

To the OP, I would say if you know OO you read wikipedia for an hour and you will pick it up. Rarely will you have to know more than class diagrams or sequence diagrams.

**Fairly New graduate** · 19 June 2009, 20:00

I'm not from a techy background, coming at this with a view to using it within enterprise architecture work.

**suityou01** · 19 June 2009, 20:00

Originally posted by Fairly New graduate View Post

Can someone give me some advice with getting started with UML? I am completey new to it and need advice on books, websites etc etc.

Get yourself a copy of ArgoUML and go through the tutorials. Also I think there is actually a UML for dummies book that is quite good.

Read, understand, and then never use it again.

HTH

**minestrone** · 19 June 2009, 20:15

Originally posted by Fairly New graduate View Post

I'm not from a techy background, coming at this with a view to using it within enterprise architecture work.

UML is a descriptive visual language designed to communicate technical infomation between technical people.

Not being harsh but if you are not technical then UML is not going to be of any use to you in enterprise architecture work.

**dezze** · 19 June 2009, 20:34

Originally posted by minestrone View Post

UML is a descriptive visual language designed to communicate technical infomation between technical people.

Not being harsh but if you are not technical then UML is not going to be of any use to you in enterprise architecture work.

Use cases & descriptions are used by business, developers, testers etc to help specify a system...so UML isn't totally for technical staff.

**minestrone** · 19 June 2009, 20:46

Originally posted by dezze View Post

Use cases & descriptions are used by business, developers, testers etc to help specify a system...so UML isn't totally for technical staff.

Well a little stick man actor with an arrow pointing to a bubble with "User login" written in the middle is hardly worth a training course.

**TimberWolf** · 19 June 2009, 20:47

A good book on OOP/OOD will cover UML too.

**swamp** · 19 June 2009, 22:59

Originally posted by Fairly New graduate View Post

Can someone give me some advice with getting started with UML? I am completey new to it and need advice on books, websites etc etc.

Yes. Ignore it. Well, learn enough to claim you know it, but realise that it's not really very good.

UML isn't technical enough to be useful as an accurate description for code. But UML is also too complex for non-techies. It's rubbish, and most of the good developers I know will just draw any old box diagrams.

Read this:

http://www.therichwebexperience.com/...language_.html

Getting started with UML