Engineering Associations: From Models to Code and Back through Semantics

Association between classes is a central construct in OO modeling. However, precise semantics of associations has not been defined, and only the most basic types are implemented in modern forward and reverse engineering tools. In this paper, we present a novel mathematical framework and build a precise semantics for several association constructs, whose implementation has been considered problematic. We also identify a number of patterns for using associations in practical applications, which cannot be modeled (reverse engineered) in UML.