Flows and item flows in object model diagrams
Flows and item flows provide a mechanism for specifying exchange of information between system elements at a high level of abstraction.
This functionality enables you to describe the flow of data and commands within a system at an early stage, before committing to a specific design. As the system specification evolves, you can refine the abstraction to relate to the concrete implementation.
Flows can convey item flows, classes, types, events, attributes and variables, parts and objects, and relations. You can draw flows between the following elements:
- Actors
- Classes
- Components
- Nodes
- Objects
- Packages
- Parts
- Ports
- Use cases
You can add flows to all the static diagrams supported by IBM® Engineering Systems Design Rhapsody® .
The flows in this object model diagram show the black-box representation of an air conditioning unit and the actors that interact with it. It includes the information that is passed either from an actor to the AC unit or from the AC unit to an actor.
Note the following flow restrictions:
- Flows cannot be animated.
- There is no code generation for flows.
