Towards A Formalization of UML Class Structures in Z

There is much interest in developing a firm semantic basis for object-oriented modeling concepts. By providing precise characterizations of object-oriented (OO) modeling concepts one gains the ability to build precise OO models of behavior and structure that can be rigorously analyzed. In this paper we present the current results of our ongoing formalization of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML is a proposed common OO modeling language, thus it is important that it have a formally defined semantic base. The focus of this paper is the formalization of the primary UML constructs used to build class structures. We use the Z notation to precisely express the meaning of UML class structures. Keywords: Formal Specification Techniques, Integrated Methods, Object-Oriented Analysis and Modeling, Unified Modeling Language, Z. 1 Introduction Most popular graphical object-oriented (OO) modeling techniques provide mechanisms that allow one to: ffl abstract over details best left to later st..