Designing object systems : object-oriented modelling with Syntropy

The authors present a "second-generation" method, which draws from the best of "first-generation" object-oriented analysis and design methods. The method set out in the book, Syntropy, is distinguished in the following ways - careful distinctions are drawn about what is being modelled and why; all of the notations can be precisely related to each other; a great deal of semantic reasoning and checking is possible; a full treatment of concurrency is provided; and techniques for partitioning models are described. This book is designed to equip the reader with a complete set of techniques for building large and complex interactive software systems. The primary graphical notations used are variants of OMT (the Rumbaugh object modelling notation), Harel statecharts, and Booch mechanisms. This book presents a new approach to object-oriented analysis and design, a second-generation method which draws from the best of the first generation of object-oriented analysis and design methods. Called Syntropy, this method incorporates elements of formal methods within common graphical notations. Syntropy is unique in that careful distinctions are drawn about what is being modelled and why, all of the notations can be precisely related to each other, a great deal of semantic reasoning and checking is possible, a full treatment of concurrency is provided, and techniques for partitioning models are described. This book is for practising programmers, software analysts and designers, as well as researchers and teachers in the theory and practice of software construction. As well as presenting Syntropy, it aims to provide new perspectives on object-oriented software construction for software developers using any kind of analysis and design method.

The authors describe a range of techniques, notations, principles, and procedures that will be useful to software developers using any kind of object-oriented analysis or design method. The book will help readers to think more clearly about what their object-oriented descriptions and notations mean and when they can best be used.