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Designing the COM+ Application Using UML

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Developing a successful COM+ application requires up-front application architectural design. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is key to this design development. The UML is a modeling notation for application data and processes that combines the best practices of the software industry. Because the UML breaks the application into three views that reflect the application as well as its packaging and implementation, the modeling notation extends well to support enterprise modeling.

The UML addresses three views of the application, as follows:

  • The static view, which is modeled by information taken from user scenarios and class diagrams.
  • The dynamic view, which is modeled using sequence, collaboration, and state transition diagrams.
  • The functional view, which is the more traditional descriptive narrative using pseudocode and specifications.

The information for these views can be gathered by following three design steps that work well with the UML. Before writing a single line of code, you need to create the following models:

Conceptual model

Decide what components and services are required.

Logical model

Determine which logical design tier they belong in.

Physical model

Determine where the components reside physically and how they are to be coded.

These models can then be used with UML-based CASE tools. For more information on these three design models, see the following topics in this section:

COM+ Design Assumptions and Principles

General Design Tips for Using COM+

Optimizing Interactions with the COM+ Business Logic Tier

Other Microsoft Tools for Building Distributed Applications