UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series)

The major strength of UML Distilled is its short, concise presentation of the essentials of UML and where it fits within today's software development process. The book describes all the major UML diagram types, what they're for, and the basic notation involved in creating and deciphering them. These diagrams include use cases; class and interaction diagrams; collaborations; and state, activity, and physical diagrams. The examples are always clear, and the explanations cut to the fundamental design logic.

For the second edition, the material has been reworked for use cases and activity diagrams, plus there are numerous small tweaks throughout, including the latest UML v. 1.3 standard. An appendix even traces the evolution of UML versions.

Working developers often don't have time to keep up with new innovations in software engineering. This new edition lets you get acquainted with some of the best thinking about efficient object-oriented software design using UML in a convenient format that will be essential to anyone who designs software professionally. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: UML basics, analysis and design, outline development (software development process), inception, elaboration, managing risks, construction, transition, use case diagrams, class diagrams, interaction diagrams, collaborations, state diagrams, activity diagrams, physical diagrams, patterns, and refactoring basics.

1) UML Distilled by Martin Fowler 2) UML Toolkit by Hans-Erik Eriksson & Magnus Penker (* includes a CD-Rom with Rational Rose 4.0 demo). A great second book! You can also obtain a free UML Modeling tool by TogetherSoft.

3) The Unified Modeling Language User Guide by Booch, RumBaugh and Jacobson. A GREAT book and definite read, however I would not recommend it as your first if you are new to modeling (as I am). I was extremely impressed by Grady Booch's writing skill. He infused me with a love for modeling. (I also intend to read his other books.) As a parent I enjoyed his comments regarding teen age daughters in addition to the fine art of dog house construction.

4) Real-Time UML: Developing Efficient Objects for Embedded Systems by Bruce Powel Douglass. A SUPERB book! I am just finishing it. I was impressed with the author's extensive real-time knowledge and appreciative of his ability to communicate it so clearly to interested readers. I found his dry sense of humor entertaining and intend to look into the Dave Barry reference. I only wish I had time to immediately sit down and read his second real-time book "Doing Hard Time". It is however waiting on my office shelf.

Thanks to all the authors sited. Good luck to you on your discovery of the UML.


An Informative and Satisfying Guide to UML in OO Design   September 29, 2000
Thomas E. Denham (Alpharetta, GA USA)
20 out of 25 found this review helpful

This is an informative and satisfying guide to using UML in object oriented development. In relatively few pages the most commonly used aspects of the standard modeling language are presented, explained, and illustrated. A developer already familiar with an object oriented language could make good use of this book as their first introduction to UML. For those without any grounding in object orientation I think Sams Teach Yourself UML in 24 Hours or Fundamentals of Object-Oriented Design in UML are better places to start.

The thing I liked the most about this book was the practical advice for moving an object oriented project through to completion. As asides to the explanations of UML syntax and form, the authors dropped in tidbits of advice... "Don't try to do software that exactly maps the conceptual perspective. Try, instead, to be faithful to the spirit of conceptual perspective but still realistic considering the tools you are using" (p. 150). This was said in the context of one of the longer chapters in the book, UML and Programming, where the reader is walked through a demonstration of using UML to conceptualize a patient information system for a hospital and then walked through the choices that might be made to implement it in Java. The authors work with a sample where an ideal solution is out of reach and illustrate instead a pragmatic choice that works. This kind of thing is done over and over again in the book. Martin Fowler also refers the reader to his website where he extends this demonstration into greater complexities than the book covered.

Since this book is so brief it would be a great choice for an entire team to read together to get everyone on the same page for a project.


Excellent for Software Engineers   September 18, 2004
Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Excellent guide for software engineers that need to come up to speed quickly. UML is huge and many may not want to be drowning in the details. This book gives you the basics, and then some. Many areas are covered and it could almost be a concise summary to many aspects of software development in the real world. Definitely will stay on my bookshelf.


A Definitive Practical Guide   July 24, 2006
Adnan Masood (Monrovia, CA, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

After Grady Booch, James Rumbaugh, Stephen Mellor and GOF, Martin Fowler is pretty much one of the fore-fathers of Object Oriented design and analysis. He is one of the initial torch bearers of the discipline we know as refactoring. Martin Fowler is the author of several renowned books on analysis and design namely "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture", "Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code", "Planning Extreme Programming" and "Analysis Patterns: Reusable Object Models"

I have been using "UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language" for some time now and the best thing I like about this 170 page guide is its simplicity. This books well written, practical and goes straight to the point. This does not mean that it lacks in theoretical aspect of UML but it's not intended towards "fluff" when all you need is a bare minimum to get the job done. UML, as we know is standard for modeling software artifacts. Using UML software developers and architects can make a blueprint of a project like entity relationship diagrams for relational design and server queue diagrams for discrete event simulation.

Martin does an excellent job in explaining how to specify, visualize, construct, and document the artifacts of software systems by using UML. The practical guidelines help simplifying the complex process of software design by using pseudo codes and their corresponding UML designs. The back cover has some interesting prospect to look at book for instance

Would you like to understand the most important elements of class diagrams (see page 35)

Do you want to find out what diagram types were added to the UML 2.0 without wading through the spec? (see page 11)

I usually say that if you can read only one book on OO modeling and design from a developer's prospect, go with David Parsons. If you can only read one book on how to think OO, "Object Thinking" is the way to go. Now I'll add to it that if you can read only one book on how to do OO design with UML modeling, make "UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language" your first choice.