A Standardized Textual Language for UML Modeling: Review and Suggestions

Abstract

Using Unified Modeling Language (UML) notations and tools to represent structure, behavior, architecture, and business processes is crucial when specifying newly developing systems. UML has become the de facto standard in software engineering and development. Numerous tools support UML modeling, helping project managers, system analysts, business analysts, and architects create UML diagrams through both text-based instructions and visual drawing tools. These tools often have their own unique notations for text-based instructions. In this paper, we review a selection of popular UML textual notations and introduce a new formalized textual language called Standard Textual Unified Modeling Language (STUML). STUML is designed to standardize the way UML notations are expressed in text-based tools. It can be used directly or mapped to the notations of existing textual and graphical tools. This new language is intended for various types of diagrams, including class and use case diagrams, and is crafted to be easy to write, easy to read, and usable without requiring special editors. STUML has the potential to become the standard for textual UML notations.