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POhow do I restrict multiplicity and other properties in specialized classes using UML or class definitions
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  1. POhow do I restrict multiplicity and other properties in specialized classes using UML or class definitions
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    copied!<p>I am trying to create a UML class diagram and corresponding class definition (in, for example, C# or Java) where I have a generic hierarchy of relationships and one or more specialized classes that are based on that general relationship but constrain it.</p> <p>For example, say I have the following general UML relationships (pretend it looks like UML):</p> <pre><code>Router &lt;&gt; 1 | | * Card &lt;&gt; 1 | | * Port </code></pre> <p>(Read as: Router contains 1 or more cards and each card contains one or more ports)</p> <p>I then want to extend that and define a specialized class, for example CiscoRouter.</p> <pre><code>Router &lt;|---CiscoRouter </code></pre> <p>Furthermore, let's say a CiscoRouter can only have have 1..10 cards. Is there a way to define this restriction in the model? </p> <p>I could do something like the following:</p> <pre><code>Router &lt;|---CiscoRouter &lt;&gt; 1 &lt;&gt; 1 | | | * | Card ____________| &lt;&gt; 1 10 | | * Port </code></pre> <p>However, this would technically create two separate collections of Card objects, right? Any suggestions on how to best define this?</p> <p>Actual designs will probably be more complicated as we will need classes like Cisco7200Router, LinkSysRouter, etc. As well as custom Cards, Ports, etc. For example:</p> <pre><code>Router &lt;|---CiscoRouter &lt;&gt; 1 &lt;&gt; 1 | | | * | 10 Card &lt;|------CiscoCard &lt;&gt; 1 &lt;&gt; 1 | | | * | 4 Port &lt;|------CiscoPort </code></pre> <p>To add another complication, let's say that the Router has a property called Weight. However, in the CiscoRouter, we want to actually define that property to be a certain value, say 4 Lbs (e.g. our model somehow states that a CiscoRouter weighs 4 Lbs, has 10 cards, and each card has 4 ports). How do I define this?</p> <p>I know I can do a lot of this in code using abstract classes, methods, etc; but I want to know if there is any clean way to define as much of this as possible in the model or metadata so that I can generate some design documentation from it without executing anything.</p> <p>Thanks in advance,</p> <p>Dan</p>
 

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