Stereotypes are the main extension mechanism of UML, providing a way
to derive specializations of the standard
metaclasses. Stereotype
is a sub-class of
GeneralizableElement
in the UML metamodel. Stereotypes
are supplemented by constraints and tagged
values.
New stereotypes are added from
the stereotype property tab itself (see
below). Properties of existing stereotypes can be reached by selecting
the property tab for any artifact with that stereotype and using the
navstereo button () within the property
tab.
The details tabs that are active for stereotypes are as follows.
ToDoItem
Standard tab.
Properties
See Section 15.4.2, “Stereotype Property Toolbar” and Section 15.4.3, “Property Fields For Stereotype” below.
Documentation
Standard tab. See Section 12.5, “Documentation Tab”.
Source
Standard tab. This contains the representation of the stereotype on diagrams (its name between « and »).
![]() | Warning |
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You can edit this entry, but it has no effect and when you return to the entry it will be restored to its original value. |
Constraints
Standard tab. ArgoUML only supports constraints on Classes and Features (Attributes, Operations, Receptions, and Methods), so this tab is grayed out.
Tagged Values
Standard tab. In the UML metamodel,
Stereotype
has the following standard tagged
values defined.
derived
(from the
superclass, ModelElement
). Values
true
, meaning the class is
redundant—it can be formally derived from other
elements, or false
meaning it
cannot.
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This indicates any element with this stereotype
has the |
![]() | Caution |
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Tagged values for a stereotype are rather different to those for elements in the UML core architecture, in that they apply to all artifacts to which the stereotype is applied, not just the stereotype itself. |
Go
up
Navigate up through the package structure of the model.
Add
stereotype
This creates a new stereotype (see Section 15.4, “Stereotype”) within the model (which appears on no diagram), navigating immediately to the properties tab for that stereotype.
Delete
This deletes the stereotype from the model.
Name
Text box.
The name of the stereotype.
There is no
convention for naming stereotypes, beyond starting them with a
lower case letter. Even the standard UML stereotypes vary
between all lower case (e.g. metamodel
),
bumpy caps (e.g. systemModel
) and space
separated (e.g. object model
).
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ArgoUML does not enforce any naming convention for stereotypes |
Base Class
Drop down selector.
Any stereotype must be derived
from one of the metaclasses in the UML metamodel
Abstraction
, Association
,
AssociationEnd
,
BehavioralFeature
,
CallEvent
, Class
,
Classifier
,
Collaboration
, Comment
,
Component
, Constraint
,
DataType
, Dependency
,
Flow
, Generalization
,
Model
, ModelElement
,
ObjectFlowState
, Package
,
Permission
, Subsystem
and
Usage
) or the artifact classes
that derive from them. The stereotype will then
be available to artifacts that derive from that same metaclass
or that artifact.
Namespace
Drop down selector. Records the namespace for the stereotype. This is the package hierarchy.
Modifiers
Check box, with entries
abstract
,
final
and
root
.
abstract
is used to declare
that artifacts that use this stereotype cannot be
instantiated, but must always be
specialized.
final
indicates that
artifacts that use this stereotype can have no further
sub-types, while root
indicates it is a
top level artifact.
![]() | Caution |
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Remember that these modifiers apply to the artifacts using the stereotype, not just the stereotype. |
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ArgoUML neither imposes, nor checks that artifacts using a stereotype adopt the stereotype's modifiers. |
Generalizations
Text area. Lists any stereotype that generalizes this stereotype.
![]() | Caution |
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It is not clear that generalizing stereotypes makes much sense. |
Button 1 click navigates to the generalization and opens its property tab.
Button 2 click yields a drop down menu with three entries
Open
. Navigate to the
selected generalization.
Add
. Add a new
generalization. The "Add/Remove Generalizations" dialog box opens.
Delete
. The
generalization
is deleted.
Specializations
Text box. Lists any specialized stereotype (i.e. for which this stereotype is a generalization.
![]() | Caution |
---|---|
It is not clear that specializing stereotypes makes much sense. |
button 1 click navigates to the specialised stereotype and opens its property tab.
Button 2 click yields a drop down menu with three entries
Open
. Navigate to the
selected specialization.
Add
. Add a new
specialization. The "Add/Remove Specializations" dialog box opens.
Delete
. The link
specialization
is deleted.