Modeling in software engineering includes constructing static, dynamic, and behavioral representations. In describing system behavior, actions and states are two of the most commonly used concepts. In this paper, we focus on the notion of action. It generally held that the meaning of the concept of action is not that easy to grasp. According to some researchers, many existing systems do involve the notion of action, but in an obscure way. In Unified Modeling Language (UML), an action is a single atomic step within an activity, i.e., it is not further decomposed within the activity. Activity represents a behavior that is composed of actions. This paper contributes to the establishment of a broader interdisciplinary understanding of the notion of action in conceptual modeling based on a model called the thinging machine (TM). The TM uses only five primitive actions: create, process, release, transfer, and receive. The goal of such a venture is to improve the process of developing conceptual models by refining basic concepts such as action and event. To demonstrate how TM modeling represents actions, UML activity and Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) diagrams are re-modeled in terms of the five TM actions. The results reveal the viability of the TM s five actions in modeling and relate them to other important notions such as activity, event, and behavior.
翻译:软件工程的建模包括构建静态、动态和行为表现。 在描述系统行为、行动和状态时, 描述系统行为、 行动和状态是两个最常用的概念。 在本文中, 我们注重行动的概念。 一般认为, 行动概念的含义并不那么容易理解。 一些研究人员认为, 许多现有系统确实包含行动概念, 但却以一种模糊的方式存在。 在统一建模语言( UML) 中, 一项行动是在一项活动中的一个单一原子步骤, 也就是说, 它不是在一项活动中进一步分解。 活动代表一种由行动组成的行为。 本文有助于在概念建模中建立更广泛的跨学科理解, 概念建模的概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念的概念, 以称为定型机器( TM ) 。 TM 仅使用五项原始行动: 创建、 进程、 释放、 转让和接收。 在统一建模中, 行动是一个通过完善诸如行动和事件等基本概念, 来改进概念模型如何代表行动、 UML 和业务流程模型和Notation (BPMN) 图表, 有助于建立更广泛的对概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念概念的理解。