9.1 Language Architecture

The UML is defined within a scheme called a four-layer metamodeling architecture that involves four distinct layers or levels of abstraction. Each layer defines elements, concepts, and relationships between concepts, based on the types of elements in the next more general layer.

For example, consider how we define programming languages and programs using the following layers:

The meta-metamodel or M3-level layer: At the most abstract layer, we define the concepts of data, processing, input, and output where processing inputs and outputs data.
The metamodel or M2-level layer: At the next more specific layer, we can define programming languages that have specific data types and types of processing statements using the concepts of data and processing defined at the M3-level layer. For example, Java has the byte, short, int, long, char, float, and double data types, and it has the if, while, do, for, break, continue, and return processing statements.
The model or M1-level layer: At the next more specific layer, we can define programs that use specific data types and specific processing statements using the types of elements defined at the M2-level layer — for example, a Java program that uses int and char string variables within a for loop to count the number of characters in a string.
The user model or M0-level layer: At the next more-specific layer, we can execute programs — for example, a Java program that counts the number of characters in a string such as "I Love UML," which has 10 characters.

Within this scheme, as each layer has more concrete or specific elements, the "meta" phrase is dropped and the layer number decreases.

For a programming language, the M2-level layer defines the programming language with data types and types of processing statements, the M1-level layer defines a program with specific data variables and specific processing statements using the elements defined in the M2-level layer, and the M0-level layer is an executing program that is defined in the M1-level layer using the data types and types of processing statements defined in the M2-level layer. This is very natural in that an executing program (M0-level layer) is an instance or a specific execution of a defined program (M1-level layer) that uses the data types and types of processing statements of the programming language (M2-level layer).

Similarly, for the UML, we say a model, depicted using class diagrams, is an instance of a metamodel; a user model, depicted using object diagrams, is an instance of a model depicted using class diagrams; a user model, depicted using object diagrams, is an instance of a metamodel; and objects and links are instances of their classes and associations.

This scheme of defining and organizing a language is important in helping us define the language and how it is used; otherwise, a language would be a hodgepodge of different types of modeling elements, concepts, and relationships between concepts, without any thought of how the language is defined and how it may be used.

Similar to how the Java programming language is defined at the metamodel layer, the UML is defined at the metamodel layer as follows:

The meta-metamodel or M3-level layer: The UML standard defines the notion of a concept.
The metamodel or M2-level layer: The UML standard defines the concepts of Class, Attribute, Operation, Object, Attribute Value, Association, Link, and so forth, which include all the concepts that compose the UML. Each class in the metamodel is known as a metaclass.
The model or M1-level layer: We define specific classes, attributes, operations, and associations — for example, all the classes and associations with all their detail pertaining to the project management system discussed throughout the book.
The user model or M0-level layer: We define specific objects, attribute values, and links — for example, all the objects and links with all their detail pertaining to the project management system discussed throughout the book.

To ensure that the UML remains standardized, we are unable to modify the metamodel that defines the language. But to ensure that the UML is extensible, we are able to extend the language by defining new concepts using stereotypes, describing them using properties, and packaging and reusing them using profiles.