2.1.1 Data Modeling with UML and EA

Beginning with v2.0, the RESQML Special Interest Group (SIG) began using the Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®), implemented with Enterprise Architecture (EA), a data modeling software tool, to design RESQML. The UML model has these uses:

• Source for generating the schemas (XSD files) that developers use to implement RESQML into a software package.
• Important resource for understanding RESQML. Developers can explore the class diagrams to get a quick understanding of organization and relationships, and drill down on objects to get definitions in context.
• Source of content for the RESQML Technical Reference Guide. For convenience, the content of the UML model is also produced in a technical reference guide, with the objects organized alphabetically within the main EA packages.

The Enterprise Architecture project (EAP) file containing the RESQML UML model is available as part of the RESQML download. A free UML reader, EA Lite, is available for download at http://www.sparxsystems.com/.

For a description of the organization and contents of the RESQML UML model, see 3.3 UML Model/Schema Organization .