What the UML is and Isnt

• The Uniform Modeling Language (UML) is merely a standard diagramming notation: boxes, bubbles, lines, and text. The Object Management Group (OMG) UML specification calls it "a standard way to write a system's blueprints,"
• Yet in the context of software development and the UML, acquiring skills to read and write UML notation is often equated incorrectly with skill in object-oriented analysis and design (OOA/D).
• Models are abstractions of something. They ignore certain details or summarize. Consider the most important point: the UML does not define any models. The UML is not a method; it is just raw diagramming notation.