Reduction of UML Class Diagrams

2002

One and the same “real world” can be modeled by different UML class diagrams, which in such a case can be considered “intuitively equivalent”. A formalization of this “intuitive equivalence” of class diagrams is proposed. An algorithm is constructed that for two class diagrams determines if they model the same “real world”. This algorithm can be used in CASE tools to compare alternative models of a system, and for diagram “compression” to facilitate understanding of large diagrams.