UML Distilled – Third Edition

I just finished reading UML Distilled – Third Edition (Martin Fowler, 175 pages). This book delivers on what one could expect from it.

This is not exactly the type of book that would cause much excitement, perhaps. It is all about an introduction to the Unified Modeling Language, which is not exactly a fresh topic nowadays anymore, as it could be said for a set of conventions first defined around 25 years ago.

It is, however, a very powerful design language for what I intend to use it. Namely, visually describing software architecture. And, as much as software ideas, frameworks, and architecture patterns have advanced and expanded, along the last couple of decades, a clear way to represent a designed architecture continues to be very relevant.

That’s what brought me to this book, even though I have already used UML several times before. I think an official recap on the most used diagrams and conventions could be good for some of my tasks ahead. And I found this book indeed helpful with that.

In addition, it covers interesting aspects of a language that can be used in formal systems design. As well as it serves as an indirect overview over some central aspects of Object-Oriented design and Model Driven Architecture.

If these topics are of interest, you won’t regretting the time spent reading this book.