1. Introduction : UML

Back in the 1970's and 1980's there were programming languages developed with Object Orientated Programming concepts in mind. They included the ability to define classes and derived classes. They included the idea of data encapsulation and inheritance amongst other key features of OOP

But there was a gap.

How do you define and document a system you intend to implement using OOP?

And so began the search for a methodology to do this. Within a few years there were more than 50 methodologies in existence - a veritable Babel's tower of approaches. This was hardly a practical way of going forward and so began the work of developing an 'Universal Modelling Language'.

UML's main purpose is to provide a method of capturing, visualising and documenting the structure and interactions within a system. It does so in such a way that it is amenable to implementation using OOP concepts.

As the specification developed in the 1990's , the best ideas from existing methodologies were taken on board. Expert opinion and suggestions were garnered from leading players in the industry.

By 1996 the first specification was released and UML 1.0 was born.

To this day, the specification moves on. We are now at UML 2.0