Description

To discover an application, you may use the simple transformation chain to obtain a UML model which represents the whole application structure. Or you may use the ModelFilter plug-in to focus on different aspects. It could be represented by little models dedicated to one element, or a complete model but with added information. Depending on the complexity of the application and resulting UML model, you will have to select a different kind of model.

The dependencies graph is clearly well fitted to show how several little models could be useful. Representation of method calls as a pseudo sequence could be done by little models or by one complete model; it has been implemented as one model to show how different diagrams have to be used to mask complexity of model elements. And representation of real type for properties show how a complete model could be improved with a few details.

Dependencies graph

From a selected class in a java application, you choose the recursion level of the search for dependencies and you will get a UML model which represents a dependencies graph from the selected class. Structural links, like association, inheritance, etc. are of course available, but we have added UML dependencies to show local uses of a type, or method parameters. It is very useful to detect usage of qualified types or usage of a type in the same package.

Sample dependencies graph with local and method parameter dependencies.

Method calls

To represent method calls as pseudo sequence, we use UML dependencies from one method (caller) to other methods (callee). Each dependency is named with the name of the called method suffixed by a number which represents its order in the sequence of method calls.

Sample method calls graph

Real type of properties

When the type of a property is an interface, it is interesting to represent its real type as a dependency in a UML model:

Sample of target UML model with real types as dependencies.