Developing Visual Basic applications by using UML models

IBM® Rational® modeling products with the Microsoft .NET architecture, development automation, and visualization feature include the following benefits:

• Use abstraction tools to focus on important aspects of an application
• Visualize CTS types in assemblies, as well as types that are defined by Visual Basic source code files
• Explore Visual Basic code by using browse diagrams
• Communicate designs by using UML class and sequence diagrams
• Improve productivity and initiate development with UML-to-Visual-Basic and Visual-Basic-to-UML transformations

  You can now model and generate code for the following Visual Basic features: extension methods, partial methods, collection initializer, explicit implements and auto-implemented properties.

You can use UML diagrams to represent and analyze an existing system to identify the system's components and interrelationships and to create representations of the system in another form. You can use UML diagrams to automatically abstract the system's structural information from code and create a new form at a higher abstraction level. You can redesign the system for better maintainability or produce a copy of a system without access to the design from which it was developed. You can also modify the target system or develop and generate new systems.

A UML class diagram depicts some or all of the components or elements in an application. You can use class diagrams to visually represent and develop the structures and relationships for Visual Basic classes and interfaces. You can create your own context to understand, collaborate, and develop an application by using a subset of its classes. You can also develop Visual Basic elements directly from class diagrams.

You can use UML sequence diagrams to visually represent and develop behaviors and interactions of Visual Basic applications or to visually represent Visual Basic methods.

You can use temporary, non-editable browse diagrams to create quick static views and explore existing relationships in applications, and use non-editable topic diagrams to create dynamic views of applications based on context and queries.