Chapter 5. Component and Deployment Diagrams
This chapter focuses on component and deployment diagrams, which
depict the implementation and environment of a system, respectively.
First, I introduce component and deployment diagrams and how they are
used. Next, I discuss components and nodes, which are elements
depicted on those diagrams. Finally, I discuss various relationships
relating to components and nodes. Many details of our project
management system that were not fleshed out in Chapter 2 are more fully elaborated here, and throughout
the chapter, I include suggestions relating to component and
deployment diagrams.Component modeling is a specialized type of structural modeling concerned
with modeling the implementation of a system. Using the UML, you can
communicate the implementation of a system using component diagrams.
You usually apply component modeling during design activities to
determine how implementation activities will build the system; that
is, to determine the elements of the system on which implementation
activities will focus. Component modeling typically starts after the
design of the system is fairly complete, as determined by your system
development process.Deployment modeling is a specialized type of structural modeling concerned
with modeling the implementation environment of a system. In contrast
to modeling the components of a system, a deployment model shows you
the external resources that those components require. You typically
apply deployment modeling during design activities to determine how
deployment activities will make the system available to its users;
that is, to determine the elements of the system on which deployment
activities will focus. Like component modeling, deployment modeling
usually starts after the design of the system is fairly complete, as
determined by your system development process.