SDMN 1.0b2 FTF Avatar
  1. OMG Issue

SDMN — DataAssociation class named misleadingly; is it really a Connector?

  • Key: SDMN-12
  • Status: open  
  • Source: Cognitive Medical Systems ( Thomas Beale)
  • Summary:

    DataAssociation is a Connector type documented as:

    The DataAssociation class is a Connector and used to model how data is mapped between two DataItems. The source of the association is mapped to the target.

    The word 'association' tends to imply a UML association, i.e. the alternative to Composition.

    Additionally, a data mapping is often not 1:1, as implied by this model, which possibly indicates that it is not a Connector, but a mapping that may associate 1:N or N:N other items, with an algorithm to define the transformation.

    Further, the arrow type is not very evocative of the idea of mapping - and also not easily distinguishable from the Reference Connector arrow type.

    Proposed change
    Suggest a better name for DataAssociation class would be DataMapping or similar.

    Consider whether this class really is a Connector type, or should be understood as its own relationship.

    Improve the symbol to be more evocative of the idea of mapping.

  • Reported: SDMN 1.0a1 — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 20:27 GMT
  • Updated: Mon, 25 Mar 2024 15:50 GMT