• Example UML chart"RAD Cooperate Flow" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: moond_studio (Ian Liu) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Definition

• Universal Modeling Language is a standardized tool used among software developers to describe, model and analyze software before putting into program code or other business practices. It's used worldwide due to its clarity and uniformity. Any software developer can look at a model and, for the most part, describe what is happening even if the application itself is to be written in a foreign language.
  
  

Types

• The nine types of diagrams are labeled Activity, Class, Collaboration, Component, Deployment, Sequence, Object, State and Use Case. Each one suits a different purpose, and has its own set of graphics, labels and syntax within each model.
  
  

Graphics

• All nine types of models have several things in common. They all have a starting and ending point indicated by filled-in circles. Shapes such as diamonds, squares, rectangles, triangles, arrows, dotted lines and more are used to indicate decisions, processes, data types and relationships among data or the process it will undertake.
  
  

Uses

• UML is preferred in software development and can even be used in other types of businesses to describe what is happening in an organization or an actual application. Each model can be pieced together at any time to describe software application methods, uses, relationships and behaviors as needed. For example, if a bank wants to build an online Web application that allows users to manipulate the funds in their account, software developers would break down each aspect of the proposed application and model them with UML diagrams. The Use Case diagram describes a business process. That diagram would use graphics to show them logging in, then another graphic to describe the manipulation processes, and another graphic showing an output process.
  
  On the other hand, if a business wanted to diagram the job duties of middle management, it can use a collaboration diagram to illustrate the flow of data and processes amongst a department, chain of command and more.
  
  

Independence

• UML diagrams must be independent of any programming language or foreign language to be effective. The goal is to model processes, relationships and data flows so anybody looking at the diagram who understands UML can see what is taking place. The programming language or way the process will be disseminated throughout an organization is independent of the application or item being analyzed itself.