Copyright: (C) Copyright 1996-1997 Visio Corporation
Citation: (C) Copyright 1996-1997 Visio Corporation


Yourdon And Coad Template

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The Yourdon And Coad Template includes shapes for all the icons and symbols you need to draw object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design, object state, and data flow diagrams. It also includes a variety of connector shapes you can use to connect class, object, condition and other shapes.

For information about how a specific shape behaves, right-click the shape, then choose Shape Help.

For information about the Yourdon and Coad method, see Object-Oriented Analysis, 2nd edition, by P. Coad and E. Yourdon (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Yourdon Press, 1991).

To add a Class or Class and Object name:

•	Select the shape, then type the name you want.

To add attributes or services:

•	Select the shape, then click the attribute or service section of the shape to subselect it. Type the text you want.

Indicate relationships by connecting shapes

To indicate relationships between Class, Class and Object, Data Process, and other Yourdon and Coad shapes in Visio Professional, connect the shapes using connectors. Connectors include the Gen-spec Structure, Whole-part Structure, and Center to Center shapes and all the shapes on the Connectors stencil.

To connect two shapes:

1.	Drag a connector endpoint onto a connection point ( [image]) on one of the shapes.

The endpoint turns red, indicating that the connector is glued to the shape.

2.	Drag the other connector endpoint onto a connection point on the second shape.

The endpoint turns red, indicating that the connector is glued to the shape. You can move the glued shapes without breaking the connection.

Tip: When you drop the Connection shape on the drawing page, Visio prompts you to choose an Instance or Message connection type. You can change the connection type later by right-clicking the shape.

See also:

About creating and revising connected drawings

Changing whole-part structure notations

You can use the Whole-part Structure connector to represent a whole-part relationship between classes. To change the notations, select the shape, then click a notation to subselect it. Type the text you want.

Yourdon and Coad diagrams and layers

A layer is a named category of shapes. When shapes are assigned to separate layers, you can treat the shapes separately. For example, you can hide or lock all layers except the one you want to work on or you can print shapes based on their layer assignments. You can also generate numeric or inventory reports for shapes on particular layers.

For example, in a Yourdon and Coad analysis diagram, you can place class shapes on one layer and relationship shapes on another, then lock the class layer to avoid inadvertently altering it while editing the relationships.

See also:

About layers

Adding properties to Yourdon and Coad shapes

You can associate data with shapes by giving the shapes custom-property fields, fields in which you can store information. For example, you can give each class shape in your diagram a textual description by adding a Description custom property to the Class master. You can then associate a specific description with each instance of that master by right-clicking the shape on the page.

To add custom-property fields to shapes, run the Custom Properties Editor. To enter data into existing custom-property fields, right-click a shape, then choose Properties.

To run the Custom Properties Editor:

•	Choose Tools > Macro > Custom Properties Editor.

See also:

Adding, editing, and deleting custom-property fields

Generating reports from properties

If you've entered data for the properties associated with your shapes, you can run the Property Reporting Wizard to generate inventory or numerical reports based on the data. For example, you can create an inventory report that includes the descriptions for each class shape in an analysis diagram.

To run the Property Reporting Wizard:

•	Choose Tools > Property Report.

See also:

Creating reports from custom data

Linking Yourdon and Coad shapes to other drawing pages, other files, or World Wide Web locations

You can add navigational links to any shape in your diagram, so that users of the diagram can right-click the shape to jump to separate drawing pages, separate files, or documents on an intranet or the Web. For example, you can link a Data Process shape in a data flow diagram to a description of the process.

To add links to shapes:

•	Choose Insert > Hyperlink.

See also:

About using hyperlinks

Placing Visio drawings on the World Wide Web

You can easily convert a Visio drawing to a format Web browsers can read. Then, you can distribute the drawing on an intranet or the Web.

See also:

Exporting shapes and drawings in .jpg or .gif format

Saving drawings as HTML pages


Indicate relationships by connecting shapes

Changing whole-part structure notations

Yourdon and Coad diagrams and layers

Adding properties to Yourdon and Coad shapes

Generating reports from properties

Linking Yourdon and Coad shapes to other drawing pages, other files, or World Wide Web locations

Placing Visio drawings on the World Wide Web