Common Mechanisms of UML

Forward and Reverse Engineering 

Forward Engineering 

To forward engineer a component diagram, 

• For each component, identify the classes or collaborations that the component implements 
• Show this with a manifest relationship 
• Choose the form for each component 
• The choice is between source code (a form that can be manipulated by development tools) or a binary library or executable (a form that can be dropped into a running system) 
• Use tools to forward engineer your models

Reverse Engineering 

To reverse engineer a component diagram, 

• Choose the target you want to reverse engineer 
• Source code can be reverse engineered to discover components and then classes 
• ⃝Binary libraries can be reverse engineered to uncover their interfaces 
• Executable's can be reverse engineered the least 
• Using a tool, point to the code you want to reverse engineer 
• Use the tools to generate a new model or to modify an existing one that was previously forward engineered
• Using the tool, create a component diagram by querying the model 
• Expose or hide the details of the contents of this component diagram as necessary to communicate your intent