Explicit Checking

Check menu availability

Once you have completed a diagram, you can check whether its components are specified adequately from the Check menu.

Phase affects rules that are checked

The UML suite provides a set of rules for each command on the Check menu. Which rules are checked when you use a particular Check menu command depends on the current phase. For example, the set of rules for the Local Model command includes the following:

• An attribute and a role on the same class cannot have the same name.
• A class must have an operation defined for each event that it receives.

If you are in the Analysis phase, only the first of these rules is checked. If you are in the Object Design phase, both rules are checked.

List of rules and customizing rules

This remainder of this section describes each Check menu command briefly. For a complete list of the rules provided for each Check menu command, see The UML Suite Customization Guide. That guide also describes several ways to customize Check menu commands:

• Changing which rules are run during a particular phase
• Changing the message displayed when a rule is violated
• Modifying a rule provided by the UML suite
• Adding rules to those provided by the UML suite

Check Contents

Check Contents checks the semantics of a diagram. Each diagram has a unique set of rules.

Running Check Contents

To select Check Contents from the Browser, you must first select a diagram in the information area. Selecting Check Contents from the diagram editor checks the entire diagram regardless of whether you have selected objects in it.

Sample rules

For example, Check Contents for the CD includes a rule to verify that all link attribute symbols are connected to associations. Check Contents for the SD includes a rule to verify that each event trace has exactly one initiator.

Check Global Model

Check Global Model checks all classes (and all associated events) in the current package.

Running Check Global Model

To use Check Global Model, you must be at Package level in the Browser. It does not matter whether you have selected items in the information area.

Sample rules

The rules for Check Global Model are the same as the rules for Check Local Model. See the sample rules for Check Local Model.

Check Local Model

Check Local Model checks selected classes or all classes in a selected diagram.

Running Check Local Model

To run Check Local Model from the Browser, you must first select a diagram or CDM.

• If you have selected a diagram, the UML suite checks all classes in that diagram. The events checked depend on which diagram is selected, as shown in the table below.
• If you have selected a CDM, the UML suite checks that class and all its associated events.

When you run Check Local Model from a diagram, the UML suite checks all classes selected; if no classes are selected, it checks all classes. The events checked depend on which diagram is active, as shown in the following table.

Sample rules

For example, Check Local Model includes a rule to check that no class has an attribute with the same name as a received event. It also includes a rule to ensure that special classes (such as enum and typedef) do not receive events.

Check Use Case Model

Check Use Case Model checks all UCDs.

Running Check Use Case Model

To select Check Use Case Model from the Browser, you must first select a UCD in the information area.

Sample rules

For example, the Check Use Case Model option includes a rule to check that each UCD has exactly one initiating actor and at least one associated SD.