Class Specification--General Tab

Figure 18 Class Specification--General Tab

Refer to the descriptions in the Introduction to Specifications chapter for information on the specification elements not covered in the following section.

Type

Your Type choices include: Class, Parameterized Class, Instantiated Class, Class Utility, Parameterized Class Utility, Instantiated Class Utility, and Metaclass.

Parent

The parent to which the class belongs (its package) is displayed in this static field.

Stereotype

A stereotype represents the subclassification of an element. It represents a class within the UML metamodel itself; that is, a type of modeling element. Some stereotypes are already predefined. You can also define your own stereotypes.

Stereotypes can be shown in the browser and on diagrams. The name of the stereotype may appear in angle brackets <<>>, depending on the settings found in either the Diagram or Browser tabs of the Options dialog box. Click Tools > Options to display the Options dialog box. Refer to the Stereotypes chapter for more information on stereotypes.

To show stereotypes on the diagrams, right-click a class, and then click Options > Stereotype Display > None, Label, Decoration, or Icon from the shortcut menu. These commands display the following information.

Command	Description
None	Stereotype information is not displayed.
Label	The name of the stereotype is displayed between angle brackets (for example, <<stereotype>>).
Decoration	A small icon is displayed in the class icon to indicate the stereotype.
Icon	The class icon is transformed into a stereotype icon.

Export Control

The Export Control field specifies how a class and its elements are viewed outside of the defined package.

Table 5 Export Control Field Options

Option	Description
Public	The element is visible outside of the enclosing package and you can import it to other portions of your model. Operations are accessible to all clients.
Protected	The element is accessible only to subclasses, friends, or the class itself.
Private	The element is accessible only to its friends or to the class itself.
Implementation	The element is visible only in the package in which it is defined. An operation is part of the implementation of the class.

The Export Control field can be set only in the specification. No special annotation is related to access control properties.

To change the export control type for the class, click the appropriate option in the Export Control field. You can display the implementation export control in the component compartment. You can display visibility in an icon through the shortcut menu.